Golden Threads of an Infinite Future
by Intoxic
Summary: After Loki escapes with the Tesseract in the "new" 2012, he's been shown the previous version of the future brought by the victorious Thanos. With a little push and the vision from Lady Future, Loki shows up on the doorstep of his once enemy to offer a partnership in saving the Universe from the repeating Darkness all over again.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

_Earth time 2018: The thousand version._

_Lady Future was staring at the view before her. Darkness surrounded the entire Galaxy, slowly eating it up. Darkness brought by Thanos. From the very first moment, he was born, she saw his future and the terrifying consequences his birth will bring up. It repeated each time, in every timeline, before each Ragnarok. The failure of the Avengers and the success of Thanos. It was happening in every circle of the lifetime. Every single time and there was nothing that could stop it._

_She looked back at her sisters, the Past and the Present, they were looking at their Mother's golden lines with the fate of each creature of the universe. Some were tattered already, some were too strong to be broken. _

"_My preciouses, it is time again to begin the Time again," Mother spoke in her low tone. A moment later, her two sisters appeared on both sides. Life and Death. "Let the circle start from the beginning." _

_Mother grabbed the golden threads and put them in the vessel in the middle of the Yggdrasil. The bright light spread in each branch of the World's Tree and lighten it up in million small points. Life, Death, and Fate joined their hands and began chanting the old enchantments to start creating the worlds again. _

_Suddenly, the Future spotted something on the Yggdrasil. There at the bottom of the vessel lay two golden treads. One was circled by the green mist, while the other shone with blue light. The Future reached for them and took in both her hands. Then she saw it. Images were running fast behind her misted white eyes. The green mist around the first thread connected with the blue light of the other, mixing perfectly together. _

_A new vision appeared before her. A vision she never expected to see. _

_She couldn't stop a small smile creeping on her face. The vision was beautiful and rightful for the Galaxy. All she had to do was send a little push so the vision becomes real. _

_**A vision of hope for the whole universe.**_

* * *

Hey, hello,  
I haven't been very active in this fandom for a while so I decided to come back, seeing as the idea for this story has been dangling in my mind for a while now. It all may be confusing now, but as I will bring the first chapter, some things will clear themselves for you. I'm not adding it in the tags, but there will be a reference to the Endgame as well, but I will warn about it. Some people could still not see it or something.  
Hopefully, you'll like it!


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

**"The new beginning of the future"**

Earth time: 2012, version thousand and one.

Loki was rolling his eyes, as he observed his oaf of a brother... no! Adopted brother, son of Odin the Allfather, who had stolen him from his home realm at the dawn of the war with Laufey, his biological father, who Loki in hopes of gaining the respect from his adoptive father had killed. It turned out that Odin was not even close to being proud of his youngest for such an act. In fact, there was a disappointment in his eyes, when he was holding him and Thor at the end of Gungnir that night when Loki decided he finally had enough of everything.

That night was the beginning of his new future.

He was falling for so long. His seidr the only thing that kept him alive in the Void. But even his magic wasn't endless. Eventually, Loki, feeling the push from the Void, decided to let go altogether and wait for Mistress Death to come and collect him.

However, it wasn't her who came for him.

It was someone worse than Death herself.

Thanos, the Mad Titan with a plan on saving the universe. He just needed Loki's help and offered the one thing, Loki was promised since the time he was a youngling. A kingdom to rule, for he was born to be a king. And so as much as his rational side tried to stop him from agreeing, Loki finally agreed to lead an invasion on the realm that was close to his brother's heart.

_Midgard. _

Yes, finally, because he could not endure much of the torture he was put under by Thanos and his loyal servant, the Other. Believe it or not, Loki isn't and never was into much violence. He only did what was right at the moment. Same, as when he regained some of his consciousness when he stepped through the portal in the middle of the SHIELD base. That's when a plan formed into his mind, to once and for all get rid of Thanos and the Other from his head.

With Barton's mind, he managed to gather Earth's Mightest Heroes in one place to stop the ongoing war. Even though it caused him a massive head and body ache, Loki let the _Avengers _battle and overpower him for a while. However, he did not expect his brother to put a muzzle on him. Cuffs yes, but not the muzzle. With cuffs only, Loki was still able to escape during travel via Bifrost. A few spells cast on himself and he'd escape in the middle, landing on the Alfheim. Before Thor would come for him, he'd be long gone from there, on Muspelheim or even hiding in Vanaheim. He'd survive until he'd lick his wounds and regain his powers. However, the idiot put a muzzle on him, blocking his ability to cast spells.

What an oaf.

And now, they were in the lobby of Stark tower. Loki was eyeing the short mortal, who was bold enough to disagree with the decisions of his rulers.

"No way," Stark said, "I'm not going to give this up easily."

"I take the Tesseract and Loki with me to Asgard, where he will pay for his crimes both against Asgard and Midgard. Rest assured my friend, my father is no lenient when it comes to punishments. After all, he sent me here, to Midgard to teach me a lesson."

"Yeah, Point Break, I don't trust your Alldaddy in this matter."

"Stark is right," The older man said, giving Loki a disgusted look. Oh, if he could speak, he'd turn the man in a toad. "Loki led an invasion on Earth, he must face the punishment here."

"Loki is the citizen of Asgard and his life belongs under the rule of Odin the Allfather!" Thor was arguing.

Loki stopped listening to them and moved his eyes on the man, who suddenly was near him. There was something familiar in him, but Loki could not pinpoint who he was.

"You'll only give me minor cardiac distress," the man whispered, but Loki heard it nonetheless. He continued to look at the man until they heard a sound of metal hitting the floor. The voices in the lobby raised.

"Stark! Stark!" The men around Stark began to panic, as the short human's body was shaking.

Suddenly, something caught's Loki's eye. Something very small jumped off Stark's body and pushed the metal briefcase with the Tesseract that he was holding. The human soldier that Loki was observing earlier caught the briefcase and lifted it from the ground.

It was strange. Who was the man?! And what did he need the Tesseract for?!

A loud bang and roar were heard before Hulk burst through the door, pushing the man to the ground with a loud thud. The briefcase opened and the blue cube made its way to Loki's legs. The mage took a careful look around, but the soldiers who were supposedly watching him were more interested in Stark and Hulk, who was marching close to them.

Well, Loki was not known for passing such an opportunity, especially when it landed by his feet. In one swift move, he had the cube in his hands and disappeared in a black mist, before anyone could stop him.

The moment he found himself on the branches of Yggdrasil, Loki looked down at the cube in his hands. He could, of course, go back to Thanos and give it to him. Maybe even the Titan would spare his life for failing the invasion on Midgard. But he for sure would not let go of a skilled mage. Loki was certain that the Mad Titan will use him to find the rest of the Infinity Stones.

Before Thanos, Loki believed that the Stones are as much mythical as the myths of him giving birth to an eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, that Odin took as his mount. Loki knew who put that lie in the mortal's minds as an act of revenge. It was Fandral the Dashing. He did it only because Loki refused his courtships. How could he not? Fandral wasn't a man that Loki could build his future with. Also, Loki was already in love with a young girl in their city, Lady Sygin. How Loki loved her. He wanted to marry her immediately, even though she was not from any noble family. But his father forbade it and instead married her off to some Vanir, leaving him heartbroken for a few centuries.

The cube was beautiful, and its power was so alluring, that Loki let it overpower him for a moment. With such power, he could go anywhere in the Galaxy. But where to? Thor would probably soon begin his search of Loki. As soon as Loki will move from Yggdrasil, Heimdall will see him, unless he will remember to constantly cloak himself from the eyes of the gatekeeper. However, it was a hardship. Heimdall had the gift of sight, given to him by the Norns. He will eventually find him. As much as it pained him to say, Loki didn't want to be on a runway for the rest of his days.

The second Thanos will realize that Loki escaped with the Tesseract, he will send his dogs after him. Odin as well. He needed to find a good place to hide for a while until he figures out a better plan.

Consumed in his thoughts, Loki hadn't heard a being approaching him. He felt a ghostly touch on his shoulder and jumped in a surprise.

"Fear not," the female voice spoke, and soon a young-looking woman was standing before him. "I mean no harm."

"Who are you?"

Loki looked up at her. She was shorter than him by a head. One of her eyes was green like his and the other was chocolate brown but both were full of curiosity. Her long hair was brown and slowly cascading on a golden-green dress she wore. The dress was familiar to Loki. It was similar to those that his mother, Frigga, wore. However, there was an addition of red threads on the sleeves of it. She was pale, Loki could easily tell. Her nose was small, lips thin. She was beautiful. She looked familiar, but Loki was sure he hadn't met her before.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

"I'm the Future," she replied. "However, you can call me Freya."

"Freya," he whispered more to himself, but she nodded to this.

"I've been waiting for you, Loki of Asgard."

"I'm not of Asgard," he corrected her quickly, gaining a small smirk from her.

"Of Jotunheimr then?"

"Just Loki," she hummed to his answer. "Who are you for real?"

"I told you, I'm the Future and I've been waiting for so long for you. You are my salvation, Loki."

"I do not understand," Loki looked confused at her.

"But you will, you just have to trust me."

Freya grabbed both of Loki's hands and suddenly the darkness engulfed them.

* * *

A/N: Did you like it?

So how was it? It's just a beginning. Further chapters will be much longer and all. Of course, it's not beta-ed and I'm not a native speaker, but feel free to point out mistakes. I try my best to learn from them.

There will be time jumps in the story, but I'll remember to warn you ahead.

Thanks for follows and reading.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

**"The future of the past actions"**

_"... Trust my rage, brother."_

_"...I am Loki of Jotunheimr and I brought you a gift..."_

_"...The princes are dead. My father is dead. Kneel before your Queen..."_

_"...No more resurrection for you..."_

_"...you will never be a god..."_

_"...My mother is dead, my father is dead, my brother too, my land is long lost...What more I have to lose?"_

_"...Thanos is coming..."_

_"...We're close to taking it off! Mr. Stark!..."_

_"...Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good..."_

_"...do we win in one of those versions?"_

"ENOUGH!" Loki roared, falling to his knees. The images in his mind were still rolling too quickly for his liking. The pain in his head was unbearable, almost as if Thor was hammering him with Mjolnir. His heart was beating fast, breath was too hard to take.

"Forgive me, Loki," Freya placed her cool hand upon his shoulder. "However I needed to show you this."

"What was that?" he asked when he finally managed to catch a breath.

"The past that had happened thousand times," Loki looked at her in confusion. "Your birth to King Laufey and Queen Farbuati, the birth of your sister and brother to King Odin. The war with the Frost Giants, where you were founded by Odin. Your torture at the hands of Thanos and the Other, your failure at the Earth, your sentencing in Asgard, the death of your mother. The death of your father. Your faked deaths until Thanos snapped your neck. Thanos winning and snapping the half of the universe off. It all happens in every version of the time, dear Loki."

"It's impossible..." he muttered to himself. "I don't know a mage who is skilled in time travel. You are deceiving me. This is nothing but an illusion. You are a skilled sorceress, I give you that."

"I feared you may not believe me," she sighed. "This is why I, for the very first time in all the timelines, will change the future by my hand. I will make you a deal, Loki Silvertongue."

"A deal?"

"You will save the Universe from the upcoming end, while I will give you an opportunity to save the one you loved the most."

For a long moment, Loki was silently watching Freya. Her colorful eyes shone with a curiosity he often had in his eyes as well. Her words sunk in his mind, as he thought about them. It still sounded insane, more insane than any of his brother's theories. Madder than Thanos's desire to gather all of the Infinity Stones.

"So, do we have a deal?"

"You speak very Midgardian," Loki commented, as the realization hit him. "Too Midgardian."

"Well, this version of me is very Midgardian, you may say." Freya smiled widely and cocked her head to the left. "I must say, I was intrigued by the future events and the creation that will outcome at the end. I may have push a bit of my essence into the threads in the vessel, but in the end, I believe it will be very refreshing for the world."

"You speak in many riddles, Freya."

"I learned it from a very important being," She flashed a grin to Loki and the Trickster could swear, he had seen it before. "So, do we have a deal, Loki?"

"I am not a hero, my brother is."

"Oh, you will be surprised, Loki," Freya took Loki's hands in hers and squeezed them lightly. "You are just as much if not more of a hero than your brother, Thor. You will see it one day. Everyone will."

"They will not, I am the God of Lies and Chaos, and they see me as such, Freya. I will never be the hero you try to make me." Loki looked up at Asgard on the Yggdrasil's crown. He could feel its magic calling on him. It was familiar to Loki and deep down, he longed to see and feel it again. Despite his falling, he missed his home. "I will take my leave now."

"You can save Frigga," Loki never turned so fast in his life as he did at that very moment. His green eyes pierced through the woman before him. "This is my offer to you, Silvertongue. You will save the universe and I will let you save your beloved mother."

"My mother is safe in Asgard. She's the Queen."

"The dark elves are coming to Asgard," Freya continued, closing her eyes for a moment. "Aether has awoken again by the hand of Jane Foster. She was brought to Asgard by your brother. The elves felt the awaking of the Stone. They are coming for it. Your darling mother will die, protecting her. All of Asgard will grief for their Queen and rage will overwhelm you."

_"...trust my rage, brother..." _Loki heard himself speaking in his mind, as he saw a vision of him and Thor on the boat, trying to leave Asgard, while Jane was curled up before them.

"It's impossible..." Loki whispered again, shaking the vision out of his head. "It did not happen..."

"It did, a thousand times already. Nothing was changed, until the end of the thousand versions," Freya kept talking, while Loki was thinking about everything he saw and learned here. "When the new version was started, my hand changed it."

"How?" he found himself asking, even though he had a hard time believing everything.

"Involuntarily, I bound two souls together in a long haul," she explained slowly, placing her hand upon Loki's heart. "The two souls already encountered and their threads slowly began to bond again. Their separate futures met and are destinated to become one, from this moment on. They will be one."

"Who are those souls?"Loki inquired, but after a moment, he understood it all. Suddenly all the words Freya revealed to him became as crystal as the sun shining on Asgard. "Who is the other soul that you bounded me to?"

"You will learn it, in time, Loki." Freya raised her hands in the air and sent green and red light up to the crown of Yggdrasil, where Asgard had its place. "For now, save your mother and when you do that, we will see each other again."

"What makes you think I will come back here?"

"I know it," she winked at him. "I've seen it already."

...

_Asgard, Earth time: 2013. _

There was darkness behind Loki's eyes, the second he was blasted by the green and red mist coming from Freya's hands. Although, if he was honest with himself, he still believed all this a lie, an illusion created by his haunted mind. This has to be it. There was no possibility of anything that she showed him to happen in reality. Asgard was safe. His mother was safe and he wasn't bound to anyone by some kind of mystical force. Everything was alright.

"Hey, you!" Loki suddenly heard a familiar voice to him. He opened his eyes and founded himself staring ahead at the red-head oaf that his brother called a best friend. "Yes, I speak to you, guard. Why are you not guarding that Midgardian woman? You were to guard the chamber she was placed in."

"Of course," Loki nodded to the man, wondering briefly why had he not recognized him. "I shall take my leave, Volstagg."

There were no mirrors in the hallways of the palace, but there were many shining golden statues of the Allfathers that perished away. Loki stopped in front of the statue of Bor, his grand... no... his grandfather and looked into the golden shield of the old man. As he looked closer he realized, he looked like one of the younger guards that came to the palace not so long before Thor's failed coronation. The man, more like a boy, was shorter than Loki, but he held regal as any of the guards in the palace. No wonder, Volstagg did not recognize him. No one paid attention to the guards, especially not the Warriors Three.

For a brief moment, Loki wondered whether it was his own magic that cast this illusion over him or was it Freya's doing?

"Please, see if Lady Jane is awake by now," Loki couldn't help but smile as he saw his mother from afar, joined by her maidens. He quickly straightened himself up and bowed his head as the Queen approached him. He could feel her eyes on him, piercing him like she used to whenever he caused mischief in his youth. "Prepare a tea and meal for both of us in my gardens. Please tell her that I will be honored if she will join me on her own, without Thor."

"Yes, my lady," two of four girls bowed their heads and walked away in the direction of the cooking chamber.

"And you two, make sure that Lady Jane has the finest dress, she cannot walk every day in her Midgardian clothes. Provide her with something blue perhaps, it will suit her."

"Of course, my lady."

When they were left alone, Frigga looked around before her eyes settled on the guard again. She walked closer to him and halted by the statue of her father-in-law.

"Are you lost?" she asked, while the guard still kept his head down. Frigga placed her soft palm under his chin and raised it. "I believe this is not the place you were meant to be."

"Apologies, my Queen." Loki bit down on his lower lip to stop himself from jumping into his mother's arms. He hadn't seen her for so long and missed her soft touches and soothing words. "I shall take my leave."

"You were never good at lying, my precious child," Frigga whispered a familiar enchantment and offered him a wide smile before she took him by his arm and led further. Before he knew, they founded themselves on the familiar path leading to Loki's old chamber. She pushed him inside the chamber and locked the door with her magic. "I have missed you, my darling."

"My Queen..."

"Drop the glamour, Loki," the man in question raised an eyebrow at her. "I was the one that showed you this spell, my son. You could never deceive your mother."

"I am not certain that my magic did the glamour, mother."

"Ah yes," she waved her hand over Loki's new look. "Certainly, there is a sign of your seidr but it is mixed with something else, something that comes not from Asgard or Jotunheimr for that matter. This magic is unknown to me, even though I can recognize your essence in it."

"Strange..." he muttered, sitting on his old bed. Soon, Frigga joined him and took his hands into hers.

"What are you doing here, Loki? When Heimdall saw you on Midgard and went to retrieve you, he said that you escaped with the Tesseract. My precious, you must know that your father is not lenient to such behavior. You have wronged Midgard. Your father is very upset..."

"He is not my father!"

"And am I not your mother?" Loki sighed tiredly, taking his hands out of Frigga's grasp.

"You're not."

"Always so perceptive about everyone, but yourself. I may not bore you, but the second Odin placed you in my arms, I claimed you as mine," The Allmother pressed a kiss to his temple. "You were always my precious child, my treasure. When you showed the ability of magic, I could never be prouder of you, Loki. Thor was always like your father, but you, you were like me. You will always be my child and I will always be your mother."

"Despite my actions?"

"You were lost in your heartbreak and rage. You wronged Midgard, but I believe you can repay for your actions."

"I believe the Allfather will not agree with you, mother."

"Your father can be reasoned with if you will pledge the truth. You were never as reckless as your brother, my sweet. You always knew how to talk to your father to gain yourself a favor. They are not calling you the Silvertongue for nothing." Frigga patted his knee. "Now tell me, what are you doing here, my child?"

"I came to... mother... do you believe in destiny?"

"Hmm..." Frigga hummed to herself. "The Norns are believed to create the destiny of all."

"Do you believe that destiny can be changed?"

"Of course," she laughed a little. "I've been raised by witches, everything can be changed. Why do you ask?"

"Mother you will never believe..."

Sometime later when Loki was done with explaining his encounter with Freya, Frigga fell silent for a moment. She took down Loki's glamour and looked into his green eyes she loved so much. Her face was stoic and showed no indication of the thoughts that were running in her head.

"Do you know who are you bonded to?" she asked after a while.

"Not yet, but I am to learn this."

"I always knew you are destinated for greater things, my child."

"Mother...I have not decided yet..." Frigga just shook her head, smiling.

"I know your heart, Loki, you are..."

A gong broke her trail of words. Both of them got up and ran out of Loki's chamber. The wretched sound heralded an attack on the palace. And if Freya was right, then they had little time to save themselves. To save Frigga.

"The Dark Elves!" he hissed towards his mother, as they stepped out to the hallway. "Jane!"

"We must protect her. Hurry, Loki."

For a Queen, who wore heavy dresses, Frigga could run as fast as Loki did. Before they knew, they stumbled into the chamber that Jane was placed and both grabbed her hands.

"Come, child, you must hide. They have come for you." Frigga explained.

"Who?"

"The dark elves. They came here for the Aether," Loki added. "We must hurry and get you out of here, before..."

Loki had no time to finish, for a few elves stopped them in their way. The Trickster growled loudly and pulled out the sword that belonged to his glamour. He never liked fighting with swords, he preferred his daggers if he was to use any other weapon than his magic. He pushed the sword through the bodies of the elves. It took some time and wounds on his body, but he managed to fight them off. Loki wiped the blood of the elves on his armor and ran in the direction where his mother was.

He founded Jane and mother in her chambers with some disgusting creature. She was fighting with him. For now, it seemed that Frigga was holding her fight.

"Witch!" he exclaimed as he dissolved the illusion of Jane. The elf growled and turned back to his mother. "Where is she?!"

"I will never tell." That was Loki's cue. As soon as the elf moved towards Frigga, Loki jumped to the back of the chamber and pushed the creature off his mother's back.

"Mother! Run!"

He moved to the elf with his sword raised in the air. The creature was a skilled fighter, but Loki was no less. He also had magic at his disposal. He was casting small spells, at the same time he was pushing his sword, trying to wound the elf as much as he could.

"MOTHER?!" Loki was never happier to hear his brother's voice as he was now. The blonde oaf burst through the door and threw Mjolnir right at the creature who was pinning Frigga down to the ground. The creature was thrown out of the window with the force of the hammer. Thor called back the hammer and halted his movements when his eyes landed on his brother. "Brother?!"

"Thor! Fight!" He managed to shout, as the new wave of elves ran inside the chamber. "Mother, run!"

Fortunately, it was the time Odin ran inside the chamber as well with Gungnir in his hands. At that very moment, Loki felt a strong blow to his side and fell to the knees, letting the elf escape his sword. The pain was horrible to bear, as the blade of the elf must have been poisoned. The world around him was blurred and slowly the light was turning into the darkness.

"Loki...Loki...Loki..." someone was chanting his name. Someone who he knew. The voice was connected with love in Loki's heart. Who was it? "My precious boy, please wake up."

"Mother?" he groaned, trying to open his eyes but found it a hardship.

"My son, for a moment, I feared I lost you one more time.

"What...Where..."

"You're in your chamber, your father and brother are here as well."

Finally, after a tenth try, Loki managed to open his eyes. The blonde locks of his mother were in his vision along with blue eyes filled with love.

"Are you unharmed, mother?"

"I am, sweetheart. You saved me, Loki. You saved me and Lady Jane. You are my hero."

"Loki..." Odin's voice reached his ears and soon the Allfather sat at the edge of the bed, close to Loki's knees. The mage gave him a fearful look. For sure the old man will lock him in the prison for all his crimes. "I am utmost happy you still live, my son. I will be forever grateful that you saved your mother from death. However, I cannot forget your crimes against Midgard and Jotunheimr. As soon as we will deal with Jane Foster, you will carry on with your sentence. For your crimes against those realms, you will repair the Bifrost and remain confined to your chambers until further notice. This is my word."

"As much delightful as it sounds, father, I..." Green and red mist surrounded his body and Loki disappeared from Asgard in a cloud of smoke.

When Loki opened his eyes again, he was met with one green and one brown pupil and a wide smile.

"I told you, we will meet again."


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter III**_

**"Red and Green never looked more beautiful together"**

One green and one brown eye stared into his greens. There was so unspeakable emotion in them that Loki could not name properly. However, he felt good, strangely good. He gave Freya a good look. This time she wore a strange attire. Some kind of a green shirt with unusual design Loki wasn't familiar with and deep blue pants. A wearing that struck something in Loki's memory.

"What is with your clothes?" he asked, eyeing her from head to toe once again. Her red shoes with long white laces stood out from her whole attire.

"Felt like having them now. They are more fitting," she admitted and snapped her fingers and conjured a golden cup filled with some brown liquid. She offered it to the Trickster with a smirk on her beautiful face. She was truly a beauty, Loki had to admit. Her features regal and yet, very delicate.

"I saved my mother," Loki said before he took a sip of the drink. Lesser than Asgard's mead, but still Loki felt its strength. Strange... he drank it before.

"I promised you that you will be able to do so," Loki nodded to that. "Will you help me now?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Let me start from the beginning..." Freya moved her hand above Loki's head. For a moment, the golden light of Yggdrasil flickered, before there was a dark sky filled with few golden points. "See, from the very beginning of the universe, there were only a few beings with no real... bodies, as you have. The beings were later known as the cosmic entities. As time progressed, more of the entities were created and moreover, it brought more dangers, for some of the entities had more power than the others. The Infinities were the most powerful ones and they were meant to protect the beings until new ones will be created. However, it did provide more dangers to the entities known better as the Big Bang. The Infinities, their remnants were compressed into the forms of gems and thrown into the universe to be long forgotten. In the aftermath of this occurrence, we came to life as well and so the _Time _started to fly. The entities were destinated with the creating of worlds. The story of the gems was remembered and passed on to the worlds by the entities. However, as the new creations developed new behaviors and such, the new worlds became dangerous as well. The desire for power that was felt by the entities was passed on to the creations and the feelings only progressed and finally overpowered some beings. Once learned about the power of the gems, many searched the galaxy for them. Many died during the journey, but few managed to control the power and use it to achieve their dreams."

"Like Thanos?" Freya agreed with him with a single nod. "When he captured me and explained his ideas I thought him crazy, but I was equally insane then, moved by the rage and hurt that I felt. At the time, I care little for his reasoning, especially when he promised me revenge on my father. When my mind calmed, I understood his reasonings again and wanted to flee, that is when the Other began his tortures and using the mind stone on me."

"Yes, Thanos is one of the beings who are able to use the stones, although not without his gauntlet."

They both fell silent after this, staring at the sky above them. The six colorful gems were floating, with power emitting off them. Loki was analyzing words spoken by Freya. He knew the story about the stones, his mother told it to him and Thor as a bedtime story once. He thought it a fairytale once, but now as he was under the effect of one stone and used two of them, he knew it was real.

"Thanos has collected all of the stones before and used them, as I showed you," Freya broke the silence and dismissed the sky above them. The golden light of Yggdrasil shone on Loki again, tingling his skin with its magic. "But as we started the time again, I accidentally combined your thread with another and saw the new future, different from the versions we had before. That is new hope for the whole universe."

"And that thread you combined mine with? Who is it?"

"But you know that already, Trickster," Another riddle. Loki huffed and closed his eyes again, recalling everything Freya did, said and showed him.

_The wretched color red she wore, the strange eyes she had, the horrible drink in a golden cup. The memories that played in his mind. _

_"...I don't feel so good, Mr. Stark,"_

_The drink... Scotch. The obscene red and gold color of a metal suit. And the strange designs on her shirt, Black Sabbath, that Loki saw before. The way she spoke to him before, too Midgardian for his liking. _

Suddenly his eyes shot open, his face full of surprise, anger, and confusion as the realization hit him like lightning.

"STARK?!" He roared. "You bonded me to STARK?! To Midgardian?! To STARK?!" Loki jumped onto his feet and began pacing on the golden branches. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be his fate. Stark couldn't be his bonded. It was impossible. Freya must be jesting. She is playing tricks on him. She's good at this, playing tricks on the Trickster. "This is madness!"

"Is it, Reindeer Games?" There was no longer Freya before him, but Tony Stark, wearing the same clothing as during their first face-to-face encounter in his tower. "I think you and I can do some great things, Snowflake. Together."

"ENOUGH?!" Loki banished the illusion of Stark and soon Freya stood before him again. "This cannot be possible. Stark will never agree! I refuse! I'm his enemy, he will kill me or call for his merry band of fools to imprison me. This will never work."

"You will be surprised as to how much Tony Stark is like you, Loki," Freya explained, grabbing Loki by his shoulders. She turned him around to face the middle of the Yggdrasil, where the Midgard was. A red point was glowing somewhere on it and its light was drawing the mage closer. The pull was strong and Loki couldn't stop his hand from reaching towards him. "He needs you, even though he does not know it yet. And you need him too. Together, you are destinated for greater things. Together, you will save the whole Universe and start a new future for all beings."

"He will never agree to this, he will not help," Loki argued with her some more. He was right. Stark will never agree to such commitment. The man was a hero among his people, but he will never partner up with his once enemy. It could never work. "He's the good one."

"And so are you, Silvertongue."

The red point on Midgard was bigger with every passing moment, calling Loki on more and more. He felt as its light was slowly overpowering him, sneaking into his essence. Loki felt a cool touch on his temples. He closed his eyes involuntarily and let himself fall under the magic of Freya. He saw himself, standing across Stark. A glass wall separated them from each other, but Loki could still feel the warmth of Stark's red light that was emitting from his body. His green essence escaped his body as well. Loki watched, as it was floating towards the glass wall. At the same time, the red light of Tony's floated towards the glass as well. When it hit the middle of it, the wall shattered in million pieces and two lights swirled around each other before they finally connected into a one. They fit perfectly, Loki could tell easily. The Trickster hardly heard about such fittings before, at least about those that were real. Of course, there were stories about _soulbonds, _but they were only stories.

_Not anymore –_ he thought dryly.

"Where do I find him?" he whispered, eyes still on the red point.

"You will save him first as he saved you before."

Freya took her hands from Loki's head and placed them on the man's heart. With all her strength she pushed Loki into the direction of Midgard. The Trickster felt the pull of the world's magic and let it overpower him wholly until the darkness consumed him.

...

_Siberia, Earth time: 2016,_

The first thing he felt was cold and wetness underneath him. When Loki opened his eyes he spotted white cold fluff surrounding him. _Snow? _Just where in the Norns' name Freya sent him? Loki slowly stood up and looked around. There was nothing in here, except for snow and a building, hidden underneath stones before him. The mage walked closer to it and opened the door with his magic. As soon as he was inside, he closed his eyes and try to sense living beings here. There were few essences and one of them stood out more firmly than others. _Stark. _He must be here as well. Before he knew, his feet moved on their own accord. Loki found himself running with his magic pulsing around his palms. However, the view he spotted once he found the men, was something that he would never expect to see.

In the middle of some room was Stark in his metal suit. But that wasn't the strangest thing here. His opponents were. Stark was in the middle of a battle with Captain America and some other soldier, whose essence was similar to Rogers. Stark was loosing, it was as clear as crystal, but he never gave up. It was admirable. It reminded Loki of the time he encountered the man for the first time. Stark wasn't giving up, but Loki saw that the soldiers were stronger than him. The Trickster sneaked closer to them and eyed the situation again. Stark was close to losing again, as Captain's shield hit him in his head, while the other soldier gave him a blow into his back. Tony fell to the ground, moments before Captain pushed his shield into the glowing part of his metal suit.

_That can't do. - _Loki thought and decided to step in.

"Two against one? That's a hardly fair fight, won't you agree, Captain?" The fight halted for a moment. The soldiers looked at the god, startled by his voice and presence in this wretched place. "I presumed you are the righteous one, Steve."

"Loki..."

"Who the hell is this, punk?" the other soldier asked, as he eyed the man. "Steve?"

"Loki... he's... he invaded the earth four years ago. He escaped and..."

"And now, I'm back," Loki smiled deviously, as he stepped closer to Stark. "I'm here to help you, Stark."

"I don't care who..." the other soldier started, but Loki gave him no time to finish. With the help of his magic, he pushed the two men on the wall across hard enough that they lost their consciousness for a moment. The mage dropped to his knees next to the mortal and looked at him. Tony's face was battered, his suit damaged, probably to beyond a repair.

"Ughhh..." Stark groaned loudly. "If you're going to kill me, Reindeer Games... do it quickly."

"I'm not here to kill you, Stark, I'm here to save you." Tony's roll eye was enough to answer. Loki grabbed the shield in both of his hands and looked the man in the eyes. "I will pull it out, will you be alright? I can try to heal you?"

"No... need to fix it... need to get home..."

"Stark Tower?" Tony managed to give a faint nod. Loki took a deep breath and was about to pull the shield out when he was hit with a bullet. The mage growled, as he faltered and fell next to Stark. Ignoring the pain floating through his body, Loki got up on his feet and turned around to the soldiers. Rogers and his companion were aiming their guns at him. "I'm not a mortal, you idiots. Your silly weapons are not working on me. Should have taken a lesson from that Agent. Didn't he tell you?"

"Coulson is dead and you will die too Loki..."

"You will die first, Captain Rogers," Loki ripped the guns out of their hands and crushed them on the nearest wall. Then he let his magic grab Steve and his friend by their throats and lift them in the air. "I'm a sorcerer, I have the power that your dull mind can never understand." he choked them before he threw them on the wall again. They fell to the ground with a loud thud. Loki walked towards them and crouched. He could simply kill them, snap their necks or rip their hearts out, but he knew it was impossible. They will be needed later. Captain America opened his eyes and looked at Loki. The mage whispered. "You shan't ever attack Stark, ever again. He is under my protection from now. Bear that in mind, Steven Rogers, for I am not a benevolent god anymore."

With that, he put the two men underneath a strong sleeping spell and went back to Stark. Tony was breathing heavily and the light on his chest was lighter. Loki could only guess that it meant the man had only a little time before he reaches his end. Loki needed to act quickly. He pulled the shield out and tossed it to the side.

"Take it...is...mine..." Stark moaned painfully. The mage only shrugged his arms but did as asked. He grabbed Tony by his outstretched hand and pulled him up into his strong arms. Stark's breath was labored, as the man breathed close to the mage's ear. Loki secured Captain's shield on his back and pulled out the Tesseract out of his dimension pocket. "Is that..."

"Our way to your home. Hold on, Tony."

Tony had no time to even take a deep breath before the magic of the Tesseract took him and Loki out of the bunker in Siberia. When he opened his eyes, not knowing when he closed them in the first place, they were in the middle of the freshly rebuilt but empty Stark Tower. Ever since he refunded building the new Avenger's Compound, his friends moved away. On the one hand, it was hurting. He was all alone once again, Pepper dumped him last year. He couldn't blame her, he pulled on too many dangerous stunts that nearly cost him his life and he put her in great danger as well, when the Mandarin injected her with his serum. It was better that they civilly parted ways. She remained the CEO of Stark Industries, while he continued on his destructive but heroic life of an Iron Man, as Christine Everheart has once written in her newspaper.

Loki helped Tony to the nearest couch, ignoring the female voice coming off from the walls.

"Sir? I'm activating the Alien Protoco..."

"Don't..." Tony instructed her quickly. "Send DUM-E and U to help me out. I need to get out of the suit and it's too damaged."

"I can help with that," Loki offered, as he put the shield next to the glass coffee table."Just instruct me."

"I still don't trust you, Reindeer Games," Tony replied to him and looked into the direction of the elevator. The metal door slid open and two robots rolled out of it. They came to Tony's side and began to pull out the elements of the suit. "You helped me out in Siberia, but that doesn't make us besties, Rock of Ages. I'm still very close to calling SHIELD on you."

"I cannot blame you for that," the Trickster observed how Tony finally with free hands pulled out the Arc Reactor out of his chest. Loki shrieked and stopped his hands, believing the man will die. After all the blue light was the man's second heart, at least that's what Barton told him during the invasion. "You will die! Put it back!"

"I don't need it anymore, Princess, for your information, but thanks for the concern, I guess?"

"How come?"

"That's not your business, Raven," he dismissed his question. "More important is, why did you help me and what are you doing here?"

"Believe it or not, Stark, but I'm here to offer you a partnership that will save the entire Galaxy."

...

_To be continued..._


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

**"From foe to a friend"**

Tony was wary. Of course, he was, how could he not be? An alien criminal was standing across him in his living room. Loki cocked his head to the left and observed Tony with his piercing green eyes. Wait... didn't he have blue eyes before? Was it normal for him to change his eyes like that? Tony doubted he wore or knew what contact lenses were. The Asgardian was breathing peacefully, not blinking as the time was passing.

"Excuse me?" Tony asked as he replayed the words the mage spoke before.

_"Believe it or not, but I'm here to offer you a partnership that will save the entire Galaxy"_

"I'm here to offer you..." the god started but Stark quickly waved him off.

"I heard you, but I don't understand," Tony sat down on the couch but didn't offer Loki a seating. This was the God who invaded his home only four years ago. Just because he saved him, that doesn't mean he will trust him from now on. Besides, saving Tony didn't erase everything Loki did in the past. "What kind of bullshit are you talking about? And you better not lie to me. I know you're the god of lies."

"I told her that you will not want to cooperate with me," Loki muttered under his nose, but Stark heard it nonetheless.

"Tell who?"

"Freya...the Future," Loki eyed the couch and pointed at it. "May I? It will take a while and as much as I look fine, I'm still very tired from traveling with you."

It took a while, but Tony eventually nodded. He quickly pressed his finger to the bracelets of his suit and called one on. MARK XXI, his newest creation flew through the balcony and stopped before the glass coffee table. The suit, operated by FRIDAY, raised its hands and was prepared to shot Loki if the mage will try to harm Tony.

"You can't expect me to sit here with you as best buddies and not be prepared for your little magic tricks."

"I can hardly blame you," Loki commented. "If you were to trust me now, you'd be the biggest fool in this realm. And I know from Barton that you're far from it. You ought to be the most intelligent human on Midgard. Or so I've been told."

"You were told correct, Maleficent." Tony couldn't agree more with him. He was a sucker for compliments ever since he was a little boy. "Tell me more and maybe I won't call SHIELD on you."

"Where should I start?"

"From the beginning, that will be good."

"After you defeated me in New York," the god began slowly. "I had no idea that all of what happened in my life was orchestrated by the Norns. They're equivalent of Gods... like your God, the one who created Earth and humans according to your religions. The Norns are more powerful than any known being. Stronger than Thor and Odin, me. They are known by different names in different realms. We call them the Norns, you call them the God, others call them the sisters of the Destiny and Life and Death. They create time, again and again, creatures and plan their lives. They did that to me and you too. In our... in Asgardian culture it is believed that we will die in the Ragnarok... for you it's Armageddon? I believe it's called like that in your history. The end of the world. When the end comes, the time will be started again and the history repeats itself. However, this time something was changed. Our threads...umm... it's like our cords of essences if you can imagine it. Mine and your threads were left at the down of the Yggdrasil vessel. When the Future, Freya, took mine and your thread she accidentally combined them together. My essence connected with yours, bonding and becoming one. It was designated from the beginning that at some point we will meet and our journey will begin. That's what I know from Freya."

"That's..." Tony shook his head to this before he got up from the couch and began to pace. "That's bullshit. Bruce was right! You are a bag of cats. Crazy."

"Believe me, I thought this madness as well..." Loki stood up as well and raised his hands. Tony's suit immediately reacted and shot a beam at the mage, knocking him off his feet. The Trickster fell back on the couch and growled loudly. He could, of course, destroy the suit, but he was wary of the fact that Stark would probably call for his SHIELD brothers or have his ceiling slave to attack him with some other weapons. Loki raised his hands again in a surrender move towards the suit, hoping that the slave of Stark will understand that he means no harm towards the owner.

Stark was still pacing, muttering to himself and cursing Loki with strange names.

"You're crazy," Iron Man shot him a piercing look. "Batshit crazy."

"Probably," the mage replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I've been called mad before. However, this time, I am telling the truth."

Loki cut himself off in the middle and closed his eyes. He was a mage, he could use it to his advantage. The Trickster focused his thoughts on his last encounter with Freya. When the image was clear in his head, Loki placed his hands on his temples and pushed his magic inside of it. It only lasted a second or two, but soon there was a green ball of energy in the middle of his palm. Loki opened his eyes again and pushed the ball in the middle of the glass table. The surface of the item would be a good replacement for a mirror to see Loki's memories. He was so glad at that moment that the elves taught him this spell in his youth. After another moment, the ball opened itself and turned swirled like a small tornado, until it stopped and an image of Loki and Freya showed up.

Tony watched curious, as Loki cast magic in the middle of his living room. It was fascinating, even though he didn't understand a single bit from it. The green ball turned into an image of Loki and some good looking young woman. Stark focused on the image and words talked by the two figures. He was surprised that he understood them. It wasn't English they spoke in, the strange accent gave it away. However, Tony was able to decode the words. The image was soon filled with the darkness and some colorful jewels were shining brightly. Even though they were just an image, Tony couldn't stop himself from reaching for them. His hand couldn't grasp them and the image disappeared only to be replaced by the image of Loki and Tony talking to each other briefly. The image blurred again and Tony saw Loki leaning closely towards the middle of the golden tree-like where a red point was pulsing lively.

_"Where do I find him?"_

_"You will save him first, as he saved you before."_

The image disappeared and Tony was looking at the empty coffee table for few more seconds before he moved his eyes back on the Trickster. Everything he saw in Loki's memories was unbelievable. Crazy even, he dared to say. And yet, despite all of his logic, somehow, Tony believed in this. Something inside of him was telling him it's the truth. Loki's words were true. They connected with the vision that the witch gave him back in the Socovia. The Leviathan, the dead bodies of his friends, the end of the world... it all made sense. Tony knew he wasn't crazy when he wanted to protect the whole world with Ultron – maybe not his best idea, but he wanted to protect the world.

Ultron was a failure...but maybe this...maybe this was his second chance. Maybe he still could save the world and the people he cares about. Maybe there's still hope for all of them.

"So how do we do it?"

"You believe me?" Loki was surprised to hear Tony's words. He didn't expect Tony to believe him so quickly. However, he wasn't the one to ruin the luck when it approached him.

"Let's say that I give this a shot, Reindeer Games," Tony came back to sit on the couch. He turned his body towards Loki and pressed something on his silver bracelet again. The suit lowered his arms and turned into a standby mode. "I still don't trust you, but I've seen the vision of the future... I thought that it's just a nightmare after your attack but...now I think it's Freya's doing... or whatever her name is. I was shown the future, just like you were. And as much as crazy it sounds, I think we can do it, together."

"I believe so too, Anthony."

"Tony, Maleficent."

"Then call me by my name as well," the mage retorted, reaching out his hand towards the mortal. "Temporary truce?"

"Truce," Tony shook Loki's hand, even though deep down he knew it will come back and kick him in the ass. But now, Tony had no one left on his side. Bruce disappeared almost two years ago, Thor was in Asgard, crying over break-up with Jane, Natasha was playing some kind of an ambassador for what's left of the Avengers. Rhodey was out of the business for a while after the accident. Barton was locked down and Steve... Steve chose the enemy. He was no longer Tony's friend. He was the enemy now.

So, Tony was on his own in saving the Universe from the catastrophe. Loki had his reasons as well. Maybe together they could succeed. Maybe.

"So how are we going to do it?" he asked after a while, looking up at the god. Loki pressed his lips into a thin line. His green eyes were focused on Tony's face. For a brief moment, there was uncertainty painted in them, but Loki quickly changed it into a stoic look. "Loki?"

"We will have to find the gems before Thanos," alright, that seemed reasonable and Tony would probably figure it out on his own if he knew some more about this Thanos guy.

"Ok, do you know where do we find them?"

A small nervous laugh escaped the Trickster's lips.

"No," he admitted, biting down on his lower lip. "I only have the Tesseract and we know where the Mind Stone is. The rest is somewhere in other realms."

"So, didn't this chick tell you where they are?" Loki shook his head to this. "So much for her help, eh? So we must figure out how to get them and then what?"

"Destroy them before Thanos would lay his hand on them and destroy the half of the universe."

"Good plan, Bambi, but we don't have two stones..."

"What do you mean?" Loki leaned closer to Stark and looked all over his face. "Stark? What do you mean?"

"About the Mind Stone... yeah... there is something I must tell you...and I feel you're not going to like it."

...

_To be continued_

* * *

A/N: So, how was it? Loki vaguely explained everything to Tony and now they can start their journey in finding the rest of the stones. But, of course, it won't be an easy task ;)


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

**"Trust is the first step to a friendship" **

Loki was silent and focused, as he was listening to Stark's story of the events of the past four years. The mortal was providing him with a story of the dark elves attack on London, where Thor and his mortal woman with her science team defeated the creatures. Well, Loki did not hear about this attack, apparently, for the past three years, he was stuck on Yggdrasil with Freya. Stark mentioned as well about finding Captain America's long lost childhood friend, _Bucky. _Loki was certain that he was the second soldier from the bunker he saved Stark from. Finally, Anthony got to the high top of his story. He told him, with every small detail how some Midgardian witch messed with his head and showed him the future. For a brief moment, Loki wondered if this witch was some impersonification of Freya. However, she had no intention of showing Stark the horrible vision of the end of the Universe before Loki met her in person. Hm... Loki definitely should meet with this Midgardian witch, _Scarlett Witch, _as Stark called her. Maybe he should visit her? Yes, that was a marvelous idea.

"And then, when the Ultron thing turned out to be a giant failure, well, it was not my best idea, I admit. Then Vision came to life." Stark continued. "We've managed to destroy Ultron's body, but the sonofabitch skipped to the Internet. He somehow built another body and found Helen Cho. Great woman and very intelligent. She was using a 3-D cradle to create body parts and tissues. So amazing, helpful and future machine. Anyway, Ultron used the fancy stone from your spear, the mind stone, to force Helen to help him create a new body. Then he pushed the stone into the cradle and he was in the middle of inserting his conscious, as you call it, into the new body when Clint and Natasha managed to distract him and steal the new body. And then, your buffy brother showed up and bam! He hit the cradle with his magic hammer, sending some of its energy inside and bum! We have Vision. And since he can use this shit, your brother said he can keep it. Believe me, nobody wants to go against your brother. You know, he swings his magic hammer all around."

Loki was silent for a while longer before he exhaled loudly. Of course, his oaf of a brother couldn't stop himself from meddling into Midgard's matters. Loki was fully aware of this, he lived by his side for too many centuries. Well, it complicated things a bit, but Loki always has some plan B. He squinted his eyes and turned to Stark. The mortal was stepping from left to right foot, looking at Loki with uncertainty. Was he nervous?

"Well, that's the story," Stark added and shrugged his arms. "So, what's your plan now?"

"I'm going to take the mind stone from that creature of yours," Loki stated the only reasonable fact. And if this Vision will die during this...well, there's no war without victims.

"If you try to hurt Vision... I swear, I will hand your skinny ass to SHIELD on a silver plater, Reindeer Games. And then I will call for your brother." the mortal threatened him. "And if I can recall, your brother has these fancy shackles that block your magic. Think again, Prancer."

"Then what do you suggest we do? How do we get the mind stone, then?" Loki asked angrily.

"We'll figure something out," Iron Man stated firmly. "For now, let's focus on finding the rest of the stones. Then we'll try to get the mind stone. Maybe we'll figure out how to get it without the unnecessary death of Vision, ok?"

"Fair enough. For now, let this Vision bear the stone," Tony agreed with a single nod with him. "However, I would like to meet with his creature somewhere in the near future. I would like to examine his essence and try to see if we can retrieve the stone without harming this creation."

"Yeah, that could be arranged," Stark replied and sat back on the couch. "And about the other stones? Any idea how do we find them? I'm pretty sure they aren't on the Earth. And in case you forgot, I'm a mortal. I can't exactly travel to the cosmos. You gotta help me out with this. And two, how do we plan to travel through the galaxy unnoticed? I bet my ass on that as soon as we get there, your brother or this...Heimlich... well this guy with the I-see-everything eye will spot you immediately."

"My _seiðr_ keeps me hidden from Heimdall's eye," he responded shortly. "You are right, we must..."

"I hate to interrupt, boss," they suddenly heard the robotic voice of FRIDAY. "Director Fury, Agents Johnson and May just used their authorization codes to get into the tower. They are in the elevator already. ETA 60 seconds."

"Fuck!" Stark cursed loudly as he looked expectantly at Loki. The mage just winked at him and a moment later a good looking young, blonde woman, wearing a green-golden regal dress. Her long locks were falling on her shoulder. "What the...nice trick, Rudolph."

"Sygin," Loki's voice was light and melodic as he spoke. He opened his mouth to speak again, but before he was able to, the metallic door of the elevator slid open and three agents stepped out. They quickly made their way into the living room and stopped before Loki and Stark. Fury and Loki were eyeing each other suspiciously. The mage realized that the old director did not get much older and his one eye was as much scary as before.

"Stark," Fury spoke dryly and eyed Stark from head to toe. "Where's Loki?"

"How would I know?"

"Don't play dumb, Stark," the director commented. "I know that Loki showed up on Siberia and took you from there."

"So, our favorite Capsicle played a snitch already, huh?" Tony got up from the couch and walked towards Fury. He folded his arms on the chest and glared the man. "And did he tell you that he almost killed me with his grandpa friend? I'm sure he didn't. How could he? He's the perfect little soldier. The poster boy of America. The ever righteous Steve. No one would ever believe that he can kill a friend...I'm sorry, not a friend, a teammate. Or ex-teammate. God forbid! Steve is the ever saint..."

"Shut up, Stark!" Fury cut him off. "Yes, Steve contacted Natasha and she called us. I ask again, where is Loki?"

"I tell you again, how do I know?"

"Maybe I can answer this," Loki spoke shyly. The eyes of the three agents quickly moved towards him. The god stood up from the couch and stand next to Stark. "Director Fury, I am Sygin. I am of Asgard and I am one of the mages in our realm. I have been learning magic with Prince Loki. The Allmother, Frigga, sent me here when Heimdall found Loki on Midgard. We have been looking for our prince for a while now. Unfortunately, before I reached Midgard, Loki has managed to hide by then. The trace of his _seiðr_ brought me here to Master Stark's household. He was gracious enough to let me rest awhile before I travel back to Asgard."

Fury nodded to those words and turned back to Anthony. Stark rolled his eyes and huffed loudly.

"Look, I don't know what's going on either," he started. "Loki just showed up and in that bunker, which I'll be forever grateful to him for. If it wasn't for him, I'd be dead by now. He froze Rogers and Barnes and took me home. That's the story."

"He had to tell you something," Agent May interrupted. "He wouldn't save you just like that. He's the enemy here."

"I don't know," Tony shrugged his arms. "Maybe he likes me more than you? He was speaking about his little spear of doom, but when I told him it's long gone, he murmured something in Asgardian language and puffed himself out of here. A moment later, this Asgardian chick knocks on my door."

"You have to come with us to the SHIELD base," Fury stated. "We have to check if Loki is not controlling you."

"First of all, I don't have blue eyes, Nicky," he started. "And second, to control me, he'd have to use his fancy glowing stick. And now, if you'll excuse me, get the fuck out of my place. I have a guest to entertain and wounds to lick that your little favorite boy left on me. So shush."

A few minutes and curses at Stark later, Loki and Tony stayed alone in the living room. However, the mage still kept the illusion active. Only when FRIDAY announced that the agents left the tower and her scanning showed none bugs, Loki returned to his usual male form. Anthony smiled knowingly and called on Loki to follow him to the elevator with his hand. Loki raised his left eyebrow in a silent question, as the door of the elevator slid close.

"To the workshop, FRIDAY," Stark ordered.

The travel was short and both men were silent during it. Tony was holding his right arm with the left hand. Loki whispered a quick scanning spell to check on Tony's injuries. Anthony had a dislocated shoulder and a few minor internal bleedings, but no important organ was damaged. Loki was used to heal such wounds on the Warriors Three and Thor during many of their adventures. He wasn't very skilled in healing, but the basic wounds were easy to heal for him. Maybe Stark would like him to heal them in his so-called _workshop._

The door of the elevator slid open and Loki spotted a transparent wall and many unknown to him machines behind it. Was it the famous sanctuary of Stark, where all the Iron Man's suits were made? The one that Barton told him about? Loki couldn't help but feel excited and curious about it when the transparent wall slid open before him. Stark stepped in first, while Loki remained in his place, still eyeing the machines curiously.

"Are you waiting for an official invitation, or what?"

"This is your sanctuary," Loki noted and Tony confirmed with a single nod. "You are letting me come inside?"

"Look, you had like a million chances to kill me now, and I'm still standing," Loki agreed with this. "Just come in, before I change my mind."

Loki took the first slow and cautious step. And then another and another, until he was standing in the middle of this amazing place. He looked around. Inside the wall at the back of the room were stationed three Iron Man's suits. However, Loki did not recognize the one used during his invasion in New York. There were some machines on the tables in the corner of the room. Stark must use them repeatedly. Many holographic screens showed up around Loki, presenting some pieces of information about the man. At least he thought they were about him, seeing as they contained the images of him from New York and Stuttgart.

Loki was fascinated.

Before the Trickster knew, something hard poked him on his side. He looked down and spotted a strange robot with a long arm with a claw at its end. The robot was circling the claw and continued poking Loki.

"Leave him, DUM-E," Tony growled at the robot. "He's a new friend. Loki, please meet DUM-E. He isn't the smartest. He often acts like an overgrown puppy, but he's mostly harmless. Unless he holds the fire extinguisher. Stop poking him, DUM-E!"

The mage crouched in front of the robot. The other robots of Stark, that helped him get out of his armor, did not pay attention to him. And this one, DUM-E, did the opposite. When Loki cocked his head to the side, the robot copied his move and seemed to observe the man. Loki raised his hand and stroked the metal arm softly. The robot purred delighted and Loki laughed lightly.

"Oh man, now you're doomed," Anthony commented. "You're his best pal now. He'll force you to play with him now. He loves to play fetch. He's going to make puppy eyes on you and believe me, you won't be able to say no to him. Learn from my thirty years old experience, Maleficent."

"He's such a strange creature," Loki stroked DUM-E's arm again when the robot pushed it under the mage's hand. "His essence is real, almost as if he has a soul, although there is no real-life inside of him. It's magic."

"It's a science, babe." Tony patted DUM-E on the arm and shoved him to the charging station, where other robots were stationed. He bit down on his lower lip before he opened his mouth again. "I can't believe I'm saying this...but...could you help me? I feel that my shoulder is dislocated. Could you help me fix it?"

"You have more wounds, Stark," the mortal was confused by those words. "I cast a small checking spell in the elevator. There are few, small internal bleedings but no organ is damaged. You will certainly have many bruises. Your arm is definitely dislocated. Your chest is wounded by the Captain's shield as well. If you let me, I can heal you. I've treated such wounds before."

"I don't know..."

"Trust me," Loki touched softly Stark's unharmed arm. "If I'd want to harm you, do you not think I would have done this already? I offer you relief, for I know, you will be in a pain for a few days before your wounds stop hurt. And I need you conscious if we are ought to find the rest of the stones."

"Fine, I'll trust you, Lokes. Don't make me regret that."

Loki walked Tony to the chair by his desk and ordered the man to take his shirt off. The mortal jested that firstly Loki should at least buy him dinner. However, the Trickster did not understand this jest. Loki looked into Tony's brown eyes and advised him to put the shirt into his mouth to keep him from biting down on his tongue. The mage stood behind his back and grabbed his arm and the second hand was placed on the mortal's shoulder. He took a deep breath and in one swift move, he fixed the harmed shoulder. The scream of Tony filled the whole room before the engineer lost his conscious and slid down from the chair. Before he reached the floor, Loki caught him in his arms and took him to the couch in the back of the room. He gently lowered him on it and raised his hands above the man's chest.

DUM-E was quick by his side and turned his claw to the side in a silent question.

"Fear not, little one, I will heal your master."

The green sparks of Loki's _seiðr_ slid over the mortal's body, soaking into every damaged tissue of his, healing all of the wounds. The more his _seiðr_ was soaking in, the more he was learning about Stark. His body was tired, not just by today's battle, but altogether. There was some strange liquid in his veins that seemed to be poisoning him. Loki disposed of it immediately. Tony's heart wasn't functioning as good as it should be, despite getting rid of the second, electronic heart. Loki calculated that he must fix this as soon as it was possible. If Stark was to survive the war with Thanos, he could not die of something so trivial as some Midgardian heart disease. The Trickster cursed in his mind, mortal's bodies were so fragile.

Maybe he could brew some strengthening potion for Anthony?

Loki quickly shook his head. When did he start caring for Anthony? Only recently they were still enemies. By Odin's beard! Maybe they still were enemies? At least at some level. Loki didn't understand what was happening to him. Was it because of Freya's magic he started to develop some feelings towards Stark?

Deep down Loki admitted to himself that Stark impressed him during his invasion on Midgard. Not only he was the most intelligent mortal in this realm, but he was bravest of them all as well. He was the only one who dared to approach him without any weapon. He was the only one with as much wit to converse with the mage. He was the only one who did not attack blindly but figured out a bit of his plan. There was something in him that made him stood out from the rest of Midgardians.

There was something fascinating in Tony Stark.

Maybe that was the reason Freya bonded them together? Maybe they were similar to each other?

Loki did not have much time to dwell on this matter, as Stark woke up, moaning loudly. The Iron Man moved his shoulder and arms and discovered he felt no pain anymore. It seemed he was happy with the doings of Loki's _seiðr_. The mage smiled to himself.

"Thanks, Lokes," the Silvertongue curtly nodded in response. Tony sat up on the couch and patted the space next to himself. Loki quickly took the offered seat and turned his body towards the mortal. "So, any idea for the stones?"

"There is a book in Asgard's Great Library..." the mage started. "It contains stories about ancient beings. Mother showed it to me once. This is where I've seen and read about the Infinity Stones for the first time. I cannot return to Asgard now. I am wanted for an escape and there is still the punishment for invading Midgard."

"I'll get that book for you," Tony stated, smirking to Loki. "I have an idea."

"I fear to ask what is this idea of yours."

"Then don't ask. Just trust me and lay low for a little while, ok?" Tony patted his knee. "Just trust me, Loki."

"Don't make me regret this, Stark."

_To be continued..._

* * *

Happy New Year! Hopefully it'll be better than the previous one.

I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but I wanted to catch up on translating everything to polish.

Till the next one!


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

"**The enemy of my **_**not-enemy**_**, should be my enemy as well?"**

It's been exactly fifteen days since the fight between Tony, Rogers, and Barnes. Fifteen days since Loki started to be a part of Tony's life and changed how he saw things. Maybe not entirely changed, but he shaped the chaotic thoughts in Tony's mind that were slowly sprouting for a while now. Fifteen days since he began to consider Loki as a friend. Well, maybe not a friend, but at least as a _not-enemy_. And that counted for something. Especially that now the only enemy was Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America.

Oh, every time Tony thought about that asshole, blood was boiling in his veins. He let his rage overwhelm him a few times and destroyed some machines in his workshop. Loki was sighing exasperatedly then from his chair standing near the charging station for DUM-E and the rest of the bots. Just as Tony predicted, DUM-E wasn't letting go of Loki. He claimed him as his best friend. Tony could get jealous that his bot was giving more attention to the mage than his own maker, but DUM-E was chipping so cheerfully and Loki was smiling so beautifully.

Wait, what?! Beautiful? Since when Tony was having such thoughts about Loki? Not so long ago they were still enemies and now Stark was thinking about him in a beauty canon? It was surreal. Yet, Tony couldn't deny the beauty of Loki. Mother Nature made Loki godly beautiful. Joke's on him since Loki was technically a god, or at least an equivalent of an Old Norse god, which he was pointing out in many conversations they had during the last fifteen days.

"When shall I come here again?" Loki asked as he was petting DUM-E's arm.

Today the mage was supposed to go into hiding, as Tony was to start the plan of getting the magical book from Asgard. Tony explained it more or less to Loki and as predicted, Loki gave him a small hell for it. He didn't throw him out of the window this time, but he for sure used many insults against Tony's intelligence. It took Stark over two hours to calm him and convince him that this is their best shot. Either he will go with Iron Man's plan, or he'll have to sneak into Asgard himself, which was rather doomed seeing as he'd be quickly discovered by Heimdall or Odin himself, or they'd be left with nothing.

"Stark? Stark?" Suddenly Loki was standing in front of him and snapped his fingers before his nose. It quickly woke him from his thoughts. Tony shook his head slightly and smiled as his not-enemy. "Stark?"

"You do know my name," he muttered to him. "We're definitely on the first name level by now, Lokes. You can call me Tony."

"If anything, I'd rather call you by your given name, _Anthony._" Oh, dear. No one ever used his full name in such a manner that it sent shivers down his spine. It was strange but very pleasant. "When shall I come here again?"

"Give me four days," he retorted quickly. "I try to get this done asap and tell him to bring it immediately."

"I hope you are right, Anthony," Loki added and outstretched his hand. Tony grabbed it and shook it. This Midgardian way of greeting and goodbyes was strangely liked by the god. "I hope I won't regret trusting you, Anthony."

"Relax, Reindeer Games," Tony patted him on his shoulder. "It's gonna be ok. I'll see you in four days. Or you can call me first. I put my number on the cell phone I gave to you. I even put my photo there, so you could have something to look at."

Tony winked at him.

_Ok, Stark, what the hell are you doing? Flirting with the enemy?_

_Oh come on, it's not the first time, - his brain replied quickly. - Dude, you'd flirt with the death herself if that was possible. Admit it. You love danger. Besides, Loki is no longer your enemy. He's a very sexy partner in crime. _

_Ok, brain, you're right. - he agreed. _

"Fair enough," Loki's voice got him out of his thoughts again. "I shall use this device first before I come here."

"Or I can call you, if you'll be on Earth," Iron Man offered. "By the way, where are you, when you're not hiding in my tower? I wanted to ask you earlier, but it slipped my mind."

"I have an apartment in New York," Tony raised his left eyebrow in a silent question. "What? Did you think I sleep on the streets? And they say you are a genius in this realm."

"No, it's not like that," he defended himself. "I thought, that you know, you're jumping through different realms and use the hospitality of your buddies."

"This jumping, as you call it, it's very tiresome," Loki explained. "And if I would impose unexpected at some of my _buddies_ households, I could be turned in to Odin. I am not very liked by the beings of other realms. Especially now that I am wanted dead or alive by Asgard. I am certain that Odin would pay handsomely for my head."

"He's such an asshole," Tony commented, causing a loud laugh in Loki. "My old man wasn't a picture-perfect of a dad as well, so I know how you feel Lokes. Alright, get lost and I'll try to get the book for you. We're in touch."

"Try to not reveal our plans, Anthony." Loki pointed out and disappear in the green mist of his seiðr.

Tony was fascinated. He didn't understand magic at all, but on the other hand, he wanted to learn everything he could about it. In the past few days, he pestered Loki about everything that is connected with seiðr. The mage was clearly surprised by this desire for knowledge. He explained to Tony that no one in Asgard was willing to accept him as a wielder of a seiðr. Of course, later Loki explained that he wasn't an Aesir at all. He is a Jotunn and comes from Jotunheimr, the realm of the Frost Giants. Tony couldn't stop himself from commenting on Loki's rather small height for a giant. Loki threw him off the couch with his seiðr in a response. Tony didn't hold a grudge for that.

Stark felt a painful poke on his right side. He looked down and spotted DUM-E with his claw down. If robots could show some emotions, DUM-E was the perfect picture of sadness, as he stared into space where his favorite mage stood a while ago.

"He'll come back," Tony spoke and patted DUM-E's arm. The bot raised his claw and chippered. "You really like him, don't you? Guess what? Me too. When he's not attacking Earth and destroying my home, he's pretty cool to be around. Just don't tell him when he's back. Or he'll gloat."

Tony waited one more day before he started his plan. He needed to make sure that Loki was well hiding in his place that was most likely protected by many spells straight out of Harry Potter saga. Only when he was absolutely sure that Loki won't sneak out of his lair, and the SHIELD stopped observing him 24/7, Stark stepped out on the roof of the tower and stand in the middle of it. He placed his hands on hips and stared up in the sky.

_This is ridiculous - he thought before he screamed at the top of his lungs._

"HEIMDALL! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! I NEED TO TALK WITH THOR! HEIMDALL!" Yep, Tony made sure to learn how to properly spell Aesir's names to not make a mistake in calling on the gatekeeper.

For a moment the sky upon the tower turned midnight blue, only to lighten up in a very bright light a second later. Tony had to close his eyes to not be blinded. When he opened his eyes again he was met with a tunnel made of rainbow colors that he saw one time when Thor went back to Asgard after defeating Ultron. A loud thud made his poor heart race in fear. A moment later, when the tunnel disappeared Tony spotted Thor in his full Asgardian armor.

"Friend Tony!" Thor boomed, as he grabbed Tony into his strong arms. He squeezed him so hard that Tony had a hard time to breathe. He punched him as strong as he could in his chest to be let go. Thor placed him on the ground and helped get a balance. Now Tony understood Loki why he wasn't fond of his brother. The mage told him repeatedly stories of their childhood, where Thor was already stronger than an average human. "Forgive me, I forgot how fragile humans are."

"Sure, He-Man. It's good to see you." Tony grinned widely.

"Heimdall said you are in need to talk with me," straight to the point. Tony liked it. "Is something the matter, my friend? Can I aid you in anything?"

"Actually, yes. Let's go inside. Want something to drink?"

"A coffee, if you don't mind."

Tony prepared him a big cup of coffee and poured himself his favorite scotch. With the drinks in his hands, he led Thor into the living room and pointed at the couch. The god sat in the left corner, while Tony sat across him. He took the cup from the mortal and emptied it in one gulp. Well, good that Tony prepared the whole jug of it.

"How can I aid you, Tony?"

"It's about this fancy little stone in Vision's head," he began explaining. "You're the only one I know that can possess some more knowledge about it. You know, we, Midgardians didn't know that such a thing even existed before. All this magic is quite shocking to us humans."

"Why do seek knowledge of it?"

"Look, I just want to know what is it. Just in case if I'd have to help Vision," he spoke in half-truths. He wanted to know how to help Vision if some situation arises, but more importantly, he wanted it for himself. "Look, the situation now isn't peachy. And I want to be ready for anything that may come. You will help your buddy out, won't you?"

"My dear friend, if I could, I would help you and offer my support." Thor smiled sadly. "However nor magic nor the magical artifacts are something I paid mind in my youth. Forgive me, Tony. My brother, mother, and father are equipped with magic. The only magic I know of and control is Mjolnir."

"Damn," Tony groaned as convincing as he could. He was such a good actor. "And what about your mom? You say she knows magic. I'm sure she knows something about that stone. You always say that she's the best mage in Asgard."

"Indeed...mother for sure kno…" Thor cut himself off and pondered awhile. "Ah! I remember now! When we were still children, our mother used to read to Loki and I history of creating the Nine Realms. I am almost certain that it was the first time I ever heard about the infinity stones. Yes...mother kept the book in Asgard's Great Library and forbade us reading it without her presence. Loki often tried to break her orders, even though his seidr wasn't as strong as mother's then."

Thor smiled involuntarily at the memory of his younger brother.

"Do you think that your mom could lend me the book?" Stark inquired.

"My dearest friend, even if mother would agree, the book is written in Aesir's language."

"Maybe she could add some translation to it?" he offered, to which Thor laughed.

"I will ask her of it," Tony thanked by a simple nod. "And now, if you don't mind, I would like to meet with the rest of our friends."

"About that…" Stark started to explain in vague detail what events took place only recently. Of course, he did not mention Loki saving his ass in Siberia. Thor didn't have to know about it. "And that's how it is now. I don't know where they are. Rhodey has been transported back to New York and placed in a hospital for rehabilitation with the best doctors I could get him. Vision decided to stay low for a while. Can't blame him though. And I'm here on my own. So, the Avengers you used to know are long gone now. I'm sorry, buddy."

"No, I am sorry that our friends betrayed you like that." Thor sighed. "If I only were on Midgard then, they would not stand a chance against us."

"Eh, what's done is done," Tony shrugged his arms. "But you see now, I must be prepared for anything that may come. So, if your mom would help me, I'd be forever grateful. I will repay for that favor, I don't know how, but I will. I mean your mom is the Queen and a mage, but I'll think of something."

"I will go now, so I can bring you her response hastily, Man of Iron."

"But you do realize that my armor doesn't have an ounce of iron?" When Thor gave him a confused look, Stark only sighed. "Never mind. Come on, let me walk you outside."

As soon as he came, soon he disappeared. Tony watched Thor being drawn into the rainbow tunnel that left even more strange markings on his roof. Stark made a note to FRIDAY to ask Loki about the markings the next time he'd be in the tower.

The next day Tony was woken by another loud thud and info about Thor waiting for him in his living room. The engineer quickly jumped out of his bed, grabbed some jeans from the floor and a t-shirt from the chair.

"Forgive me, friend Tony. I do not know how the time in Midgard works." Thor said for a greeting. "Forgive me that I woke you up."

"It's fine, bro," Tony seized him up and spotted a thick, old-looking book behind Thor's belt. He grinned widely and pointed at the book. "I see your mom agreed to help me?"

"Indeed, she even cast a spell on it, so you would not have a problem understanding the runes."

"Sweet!" Tony exclaimed, clapping his hands. He couldn't wait till he starts reading it with Loki. Now he only needed to get rid of Thor and give a call to his favorite Trickster.

"Alarm, boss," FRIDAY interrupted their meeting. "Agents Coulson and Johnson and director Fury are walking inside the tower." Thor was clearly confused by her announcement. Ah yes, Thor had no idea that Coulson lived quite well after his little meeting with Loki. "ETA fifty seconds."

"Ugh!" Stark growled. "Can you stall them, baby girl?"

"And what do you think of Agent Johnson hacking my systems? Because that's the threat I heard from director Fury."

"Fine, let them in." A few seconds later the three agents walked into his living room looking very judgemental at Tony. "Welcome to my humble abode. What do you want? I don't work for you anymore."

"I will say when you stop working for me, Stark." Fury replied dryly. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out you've gotten Thor here? Did you already tell him about his crazy baby brother?"

"Loki? What about him?"

"Stark didn't tell? Your brother found him on Syberia and brought him back to New York. And this one here, let him escape." the director continued. "And then this witch from Asgard… something's not right here. I want you to tell me the truth, Stark. Now."

"A witch?" Thor looked back at Tony. "What witch?"

"Sigyn or whatever her name was," added agent Johnson. "She claimed that the Allmother sent her on Earth when you found out Loki is here."

A small wave of confusion and suspiciousness ran through Thor's face before he wore his stoic expression once again.

"Of course," he stated quickly. "We are still looking for Loki and mother engage many people in this search. And Sigyn is...a very talented mage. I understand why mother sent her here. Lately, I have been on Alfheim and I must have missed her. I will converse with Sigyn and we will start the search together. However, I am certain that Loki is no longer on Midgard. He was not fascinated by this realm at all."

"It better be that way, Thor," Coulson spoke for the first time since they got here. "We don't want to another tantrum of your brother here. New York still licks its wounds and so am I."

"Believe me, son of Coul, if Loki would want your death, no Midgardian technology would be able to bring you back to the living." Thor smiled to himself. "Loki never misses in his attacks. He's a great warrior and possesses the seiðr. I have yet to know a more powerful warrior than Loki. When he is focused on a battle, he can end all of his enemies."

"And yet, he failed here," the young agent commented.

"Did he? My brother is clever. His plans are always perfect and never fail."

_Ok, it was weird. Tony never heard Thor saying such glorious things about Loki before. It was very, very strange and a bit concerning when given a thought. _

"Better you catch him fast, Thor. Because if I'll catch him on Earth first, I won't be so lenient as before." Fury barked and turned on his heel. He walked towards the elevator. Two agents hot on his heels. Before the metal door slid close he looked at Tony in a warning matter. "I have my eye on you, Stark."

When they were just the two of them in the penthouse, Thor grabbed Tony by his arm and turned to face him.

"Where's Loki?"

"How should I know? He brought me back home and disappeared."

"Do not play a fool, Stark. Sigyn is not and never was a witch," he declared. "And mother never sent anyone to search for Loki, especially not on Midgard. Heimdall had not seen anyone for Loki hides well from his eyes. I will ask you again. Where is my brother?"

"I really don't know, dude. He showed up out of nowhere and saved my ass. When I told him that Vision has the stone now, he muttered something and disappeared." Ok, that was a half true, but convincing enough. "But if I'd see him again, I wouldn't turn him in to Fury. He saved my life and I won't forget that."

Thor gave him a piercing look and smiled knowingly to himself. He walked closer to the mortal and drew him into an iron embrace. He brought his lips to Tony's ear and whispered.

"When you meet with my brother again, tell him we all wait for him at home. Tell him we love and miss him dearly."

"But I don't…"

"I can tell when I am lied to, Tony. Now I understand mother's willingness and haste in aiding you," he added a moment later and winked. "Give my greetings to my brother. And take care of him."

"But I don't…" Stark didn't have a chance to finish, as Thor ran out to the balcony and called upon Heimdall. The Bifrost opened quickly and pulled him in. Tony stood in the middle of his living room with a heavy book in his hands and a frown on his face. "Loki will so kill me, right?"

"I will not let that happen, boss," FRIDAY answered. "Should I contact him?"

"Nah, I'll text him myself."

With shaky hands, Tony pulled the phone out of his jeans pocket and texted the god.

_Got the book. And I think I blew your cover. _

To be continued.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII**

"**So close, yet so far"**

Tony was pacing his living room nervously, clutching the old book in his hands. He was asking FRIDAY repeatedly if she picked up any signal of Loki's magic in the tower or the neighborhood. However, his dear AI had no positive answer for him. On the one hand, it was good. He will live a bit longer. On the other, Tony couldn't stop wondering, if Loki read the message anyway. He guessed the Trickster was intelligent enough to know how to do it. He was definitely smarter than Thor when it came to Earth's technology. The blonde Thunderer still had difficulties with using a simple toaster, no matter how many times Tony explained to him how it worked and how to use it. He was simply a lost cause.

"Bos…" FRIDAY didn't have a chance to finish, as Loki materialized himself right in front of Tony. Stark will deny it, but in that very moment, he squealed like a little girl. "Master Loki."

"Silence, machine," Loki snapped his fingers and the whole place was quiet. "You blew my cover? What have you done, Anthony?"

"Look…" Tony decided to stall Loki with his best weapon. Flirting and compliments. "Man, you look so good in Earth's clothing. This green shirt looks divine on you…"

"Despite the popular belief, I am not a patient man, Stark." Oh, _Stark_. Yeah, Loki was definitely pissed. Tony started to count in his head just how much time did he have left on Earth. Will Loki throw him out of the window again? Will his armor catch him in time? Or maybe Loki will simply snap his neck. So many possibilities. "STARK!?"

"I didn't want it," he finally opened his mouth. "It's all because of Fury. When I got your brother here, I fed him with this little story of my huge concern over Vision and of course, I explained how the situation with Rogers and my ex-team looks like. Your big brother was a bit sad about it. But, after that, he jumped back to Asgard and the next morning he presents me with this book. But of course, luck was never on my side and I couldn't get rid of him without problems, you know, because at that moment Fury and Coulson decided to pay me another visit. They ratted me out...well you and I to Thor. They started to talk about Sigyn and all that shit. Dude, I had no idea Thor is such a good actor. He decided to keep up with our little story about Sigyn and confirmed it to Fury that he will catch you as fast as he can. And when we were alone again, he practically forced me to tell the truth. He started on that Sigyn is no witch and that your mom didn't send anyone down here. He started to ask me where are you, but I didn't tell him a single thing. Then Thor hugged the air out of me and told me to pass his greetings to you because he knows we will see each other again. So… I didn't want it, but it happened anyway."

"That stupid oaf," Loki uttered under the nose.

"But I have the book, so it's a win-win, Lokes," Tony added with a wide grin. "And apparently your mom cast some spell on it, so I could understand it as well. I feel that your mama knows what's going on here, huh?"

"Mother knows about my… that I am bonded to someone to save the whole universe," he replied calmer. "My mother is very intelligent, I am certain she figured out your ask of the book and that you're bonded to me."

"Mmmm… now I see that you got your clever mind after your mom."

"I am adopted, you fool," Loki retorted quickly and eyed the book in Tony's hands. "There are no blood relations between Frigga and me, or Thor or Odin."

"Pff…" Tony snorted. "Family is more than blood. Do you think that everything that made me who I am today comes from my old man? Wrong. Everything I am today I learned from my parents' butler. He and his wife were the ones who raised me. So you can shove this all adopted bullshit up in your butt, Rudolph. Frigga is your mama and you're so like her. I may know her only from your and Thor's stories, but she seems to be a remarkable woman. Maybe I even meet her one day? But that's a plan for the future. Right now we have a book to read."

"Very well," Loki replied and went to sit on the couch. Tony was still holding the book as he breathed in relief. I will live a bit longer. Yay me! he thought. Loki gave him a suspicious look and smirked in his devilish way. "Come, sit down, Anthony, I will not bite."

_Sweet Jesus! It shouldn't sound so sexy!_

_Wait! Sexy? Why was Tony thinking about Loki in such a matter? Sure, the sonofagun was the epitome of divine beauty. His long legs would make many women jealous. His skinny body, although underneath this tight silk shirt Tony could see a faint sign of muscles. Hmmm… wonder, what would it feel like to run his fingers over them… or better yet, run his tongue…_

Tony opened his eyes widely in shock. He could not have such thoughts about Loki. Just no. Loki was his… not-enemy and not an object of his sexual fantasies.

_Oh yeah? Just wait until you fall asleep. - his mind was telling. - I already have some amazing ideas for a fantasy with Loki and his horny-helmet and nothing more._

"Oh, shut up!" Tony screamed at himself.

"I said naught," Loki replied, giving him a confused look.

"Not you," Stark explained. "My stupid brain. Ugh, let's just focus on the book, yeah?"

Tony walked towards the couch and took a seat circa thirty centimeters away from Loki. This small space between them gave him a feeling of a blockade from throwing himself at Loki and touching the mage's magnificent body.

_You'd like that, huh? - Truly, Tony has to find a way to shut his brain up. - I know you would. And now imagine if it was Loki who'd run his long fingers on your body. Mmmm… fantastic. _

"I truly hope you're thinking about a way to find the infinity stones, if you are not listening to my words, Anthony," the Trickster's voice shook him out of his thoughts. The mage grabbed his chin and forced to look him in those gorgeous green eyes. Wait a minute! Green eyes? Didn't he have blue eyes when he attacked New York?

"He mind-controlled you too," Tony stated the obvious. "Just like you were controlling Selvig and Barton. Thanos controlled you as well."

"Someone finally sees it," Loki commented quietly.

"God! I was so stupid to not see it from the beginning! So fucking stupid!" Tony jumped off the couch and began to pace before Loki. "It's so damn obvious. Now as I recall, when Hulk plumped you into my floor, he must have freed you from this mind control. When you took on my drink offer later… your eyes were green. Damn! I'm an idiot! It was so plainly obvious. I'm shocked that Thor didn't catch on this. I mean he's your big brother."

"Thor had some thoughts, however, he preferred to act according to his basic instincts."

"Ok, maybe we can use this to our advantage, somehow? Just in case if Fury…"

"No," Loki stopped him, by grabbing his hand into his own. "This knowledge is just for you, Anthony. He might have controlled me, but no one will see it in my favor. No one, but you. The rest of your kind will forever see me as the one who invaded their realm and demanded their submission."

"But…"

"Let us focus on the book, hm?" Tony agreed with him reluctantly and sat on the couch again. The mage pointed at the book between them. "You open it. Mother cast the spell for you."

Tony took a deep breath and opened the book on the first page. When his eyes landed on black runes, some golden dust burst out right into his face. The engineer sneezed and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

"What the…" Suddenly the black runes changed themselves into English words and a soft female voice filled his head.

"_Hello, Anthony of Midgard. I am Frigga, mother of Loki and Thor. Fear not, for my son is powerful, but he will not be able to hear those words. Thor has told me about your courage and a heart that never gives up. I know that you and my son will stop the upcoming darkness. Please, take care of my Loki. Both of you need each other, even if you do not see it yet. I truly hope I will meet you one day, Anthony of Midgard. I hope it will happen before I perish off this time. If not, then please, take care of Loki and do not close your heart." _

"Woah…" Tony whispered when Frigga's voice disappeared from his head. He raised his eyes and looked at Loki, who was observing him suspiciously.

"What have you heard?" Loki inquired, however, Tony kept his mouth shut. "I know my mother's magic just as good as my own. I know she passed on you a message that I am not to hear. What have you heard, Anthony?"

"That your mama wants to meet me," he grinned at the god. "Thor told her I'm so awesome." Loki raised his left eyebrow in a silent question. "Well, he told her about my courage and many more fancy words. Now your mama likes me. I mean, I can't blame her. Everybody likes me. You can not not-like me, Lo."

Loki only snorted on that.

"What? You don't like me?" Tony placed his hand over his heart and pouted. "You're breaking my heart, Lo-lo. I thought we're besties by now."

The Trickster only glared him and Tony raised his hands in the air in a submission.

"Fine, let's read, Reindeer Games."

Tony placed the book on his lap and moved closer to Loki. Their bodies were touching now and Tony could swear that he felt the god shivered.

_\- Hmm...interesting. - Tony's brain spoke up again. - Maybe he likes us too, huh?_

_\- Shut the fuck up, - Tony growled at his brain. - We have to focus and not think about stripping Loki. _

_\- But that would be more pleasurable than reading some old boring book_.

"Do you often talk to yourself, Anthony?" Loki's question focused his thoughts again. "You were murmuring something about shutting the hell up. I do not understand it. Is this some kind of a Midgardian slang?"

"Yeah, it means that someone should keep their mouth shut," Tony explained. "In this case, my stupid brain. Let's focus on the book."

Loki nodded to that and looked down on the book. They both began to read in silence, focusing on the words before them. From time to time each of them huffed or murmured something to themselves. Stark had no idea how long they were consumed in silence, but it was definitely too long for him. He needed to stop this and ask Loki some questions.

"Ok, I don't get it, and I'm a genius," Iron Man started. "Those infinity stones are the remnants of some ancient beings that you told me about, right?"

"Yes."

"And then those stones were thrown into space and ended up in the hands of other beings that began the new species," Loki confirmed it with a single nod. "Alrighty, let's analyze it. Asgard had the Tesseract from the very beginning. The space stone, yeah? And those dark elves got the reality stone?"

"Aether," Loki added. "It was activated recently by Jane Foster. Unfortunately, I do not know what had happened to it after the attack on the palace. I flee from my punishment. Perhaps mother will tell us. I will try to reach her without father's notice."

"Or we can get Thor here again," Tony proposed, to which Loki sent him a murderous glare. "Look, he didn't rat you out to Fury and no one from Asgard is looking for you on Earth. We get him here and get you a new cover, just in case if Fury decides to show up in my place again. Since you can illusion yourself to look like anyone, make yourself some woman's appearance and we'll make you my personal assistant. Hell, you can be a guy too. No one will question that we're together all the time. Back when Pepper was my PA, we were together for most of the time. That's a plan! Whenever someone pops in unexpectedly, you'll be my assistant. I remember that the invisible spell is tiring you out quickly and if you're to teleport here and there all the time, we won't do anything."

"Very well, Anthony."

"Cool!" Stark beamed and went back to his previous thoughts. "So, we get here Thor if you won't be able to contact your mom. That's two stones. Viz has the mind stone. So we need time, soul and power stone."

"The soul stone will be the hardest to find," Silvertongue addressed. "According to the stories, its power is so mighty that no race nor any realm could understand and bear the power of this stone. The soul stone was thrown into the void to be lost and forgotten. Those who were searching for it paid the biggest price."

"Right… let's leave this stone for the end, ok?" Tony decided. Those stories were truly terrifying. "What about the power stone?"

"Hmm… I would have to search among other realms… I would need to meet with my old teachers… yes… Alvis…" Loki looked ahead. "Perhaps Alvis does know where the power stone might be after it's been taken from Eson the Searcher. I heard stories of him when I was a youngling. Eson the Searcher had a spear… similar to mine that could wipe the entire realm off. He was a Celestial, an ancient race of cosmic beings."

"Why, he sounds like some dark fairytale villain. But who am I to judge?"

"Oh, believe me, Anthony, Eson is very real," Loki laughed. "What a fool I've been! I always knew about the stones, yet I did not remember it."

"Ok, let's get back to the stones, Maleficent," Tony tapped on the image in the book with six colorful gems swirling in the darkness. "This time stone. It says that the time stone was founded by some Great Agamotto, son of Osthur and a descendant of Demiurge. It doesn't ring any bell. But this… the youngest race in the universe… Loki, who's the youngest race in the universe?"

"Midgardians."

"Are you trying to tell me, that according to your mom's book, the time stone was on Earth the entire time? Oh, fuck! The question is where and who the hell has it."

_To be continued_


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII**

"**Nothing happens without a reason"**

Tony had no idea, how long they were sitting on the couch, looking alternately between the book and themselves. It was so surreal that the time stone was here on Earth, right under their noses. On the one hand, it made the job easier. They will find it and take it. Easy peasy. On the other… well, they hadn't had the slightest idea, where to start their searchings.

"This is your realm, Anthony," Loki started, finishing his third fruity tea with three tablespoons of sugar. Dear Lord, this guy had definitely a sweet tooth. "Where could we start looking for the stone?"

"Look, nothing new came to my mind," he replied quickly. "I can't think of any place. Before I met you, I had no idea something like this even existed. Honestly? Before you invaded Earth, I wasn't thinking much about aliens. The only aliens I knew of were coming from the X-files and Star Trek movies. I have no idea where to start."

Loki murmured something to himself in the Asgardian language.

"Ok...let's start from the beginning. This Agamotto dude. What do we know about him?"

"He's a descendant of Osthur and Demiurge," Loki recalled. "He wielded the time stone for a while. However, we do not know how or when he founded it. We also do not know what had happened with the stone. I doubt any creature I know could aid us in this matter."

"What about your mom?"

"I am certain mother did not dwell into this matter."

"Hmm… so, we're in deep shit?" Loki only nodded to this. "Maybe we're looking at this from the wrong side." Loki raised his left eyebrow in a silent question. "Maybe you can talk to this Freya again… or do your little trick with showing me your memories again? You said that Freya showed you everything that had happened before… maybe we'll see something useful?"

"There are so many things in there, Tony," he whispered, lowering his eyes on his lap. Loki balled his fists and swallowed hard. "Very well. I will show you but in a different way. I truly hope you will be alright after all."

"It's gonna be alright, Reindeer Games," he assured the mage and grabbed his hand into his, squeezing it slightly. "Whatever consequences will occur, they're on me, ok?"

"I trust that things you will see will stay between the two of us, Anthony," Loki looked at their joined hands and moved his eyes to look into Tony's browns. "I need you to relax now and let me join our minds. It should be easier since we're bonded already. I will let you inside my mind, to see my memories. I have over a thousand years, so when the first memories will start attacking you, you must ignore them. I will try my best to focus on the memories Freya showed me. I truly hope it will work. I must use my seidr on you, Anthony."

"Ok."

Tony mentally prepared himself for everything he could think of. However, he wasn't ready for this. As soon as Loki placed his hands on Tony's hands, while one of the mortal's hand was placed on his heart and the other on the mage's forehead, the engineer felt tingles as if Loki electrocuted him. Stark was used to such feelings, so he didn't move back from his friend until the first memories of Loki slipped into his mind.

Tony felt like in the Truman Show. Gazillion memories were swirling around his head, placed on something looking like small televisions. He was fascinated, even though he was easily lost among them.

Suddenly, he spotted a baby Loki with a woman with long, curly golden hair, falling onto her shoulders. The woman wore a golden-green long dress and was smiling so brightly at the little boy. Tony couldn't stop himself from smiling at the view. Baby Loki was holding a green ball of energy, _seidr, _between his hands.

"_Mommy, look, it is my seidr!"_

"_Oh, my precious," she scooped the boy into her arms and twisted with him. "Oh, my Loki, you shall be the greatest mage among all nine realms."_

"_I shall be as good as you, mommy."_

"_You will be even better, my sweetheart. You will be a great mage."_

Another memory hit Tony. This time, it was one of the worst.

"_You're using feminine's skills, Loki," some fat redhead was sending Loki a look full of a disgrace. "You're no warrior. We always have to protect you. Thor shan't be by your side till the end of your life!"_

"_Thor is my brother!" Loki's green seidr was swirling around his balled hands. "We will always be together! You are nothing but his friends, and we are blood-related! I am as good warrior as you are!"_

"_Even Sif is better than you," some other dark-haired man inputted. "You only win thanks to your seidr. Without it, you would be weak."_

Ok, now Tony completely understood why Loki wasn't fond of Asgard. People from his memories were douchebags. It was a miracle that Loki survived all those years among them.

Another memory attacked him. Loki wasn't much younger than he looked now, so the memory had to be of recent. The mage was standing inside some sort of a crypt, holding a sparkling blue box. The box looked similar to the Tesseract.

"_Am I cursed?" he asked, hearing steps behind his back._

"_No."_

"_Then what am I?"_

"_You're my son."_

"_What more than that?" Loki turned on his heel and looked at the old man with an eyepatch on his eye. Ah, this must be the famous Odin. Tony focused on Loki once more. For a moment his skin was blue, covered by some strange dark markings. His eyes were crimson red. "You didn't take only the casket from the Jotunheimr, did you?"_

"_No… after the battle with the Frost Giants I found a baby on the ruins of a temple. It was too small for a giant. Left to die by his father. Laufey's son." _

"_Laufey's son…" Loki spoke in a distance. Tears slowly built into his now green eyes. _

"_Yes," replied Odin._

"_But why? You never cared for the giants…"_

"_You were an innocent babe."_

"_No… you took me for some reason. Why? TELL ME!" Loki bawled painfully. Tony could easily feel this pain. _

"_I was hoping that one day I could join our realms through you. However, now it does not matter anymore." _

"_So, I'm just some stolen relique, a war prize, waiting until you find me some purpose in this?!"_

"_Why do you twist my words?"_

"_You could tell me what am I from the beginning. Why didn't you?"_

"_You are my son. Your mother and I wanted to protect you from this."_

"_Why? Because I am a monster parents scare their children when they don't want to sleep?"_

"_Oh, now I understand this favoritism of Thor. Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you'd never let a frost giant sit on the throne of Asgard!"_

_Odin slumped to the ground and tried to catch Loki's leg, as the mage was walking past him. The Trickster kneeled next to him and placed his hand upon Odin's. He called out to the guards. Before the two men showed up, Loki whispered to the old man._

"_Father…"_

This memory shook Stark to the core. He dropped to his knees, his heart was hammering and the breath was hard to catch.

"_Anthony," he heard Loki's voice. "Be ready."_

Suddenly, Tony was standing in the middle of some bright place. The light was so bright that Tony had to close his eyes for a second. He opened them again when he felt a cool touch on his cheek. He spotted Loki standing in front of him, subtly brushing Tony's cheek. The green eyes of the mage were sparkling with something that Tony couldn't name. But whatever it was, it was beautiful.

"_This is the Yggdrasil," Loki explained. "It is time. Take a deep breath and keep your eyes open."_

_Tony did as told. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes wider. A moment later a wave of memories hit him like lightning. Suddenly he wasn't on Yggdrasil anymore, but on something that looked like a desert. On one side, he saw a city that was burning, on the other he spotted himself fighting against Rogers and Barnes. A second later Siberia disappeared and Tony saw strange aliens with elves ears fighting with a woman from Loki's memory, a moment later there was Loki, Thor, and Jane. In the next moment, it all vanished and Tony saw the rise of Ultron and Vision. Suddenly they all disappeared as well, and Tony found himself among Peter and a bunch of strange people he didn't know. They were fighting in the middle of some sort of a desert with a guy with an ugly purple face. A golden gauntlet with colorful stones entered his vision for a blink and Tony heard many voices, including his own. And then there was darkness filled with Loki's screams. _

_Tony dropped to his knees again and grabbed his head into his hands. Loki's memories were swirling around him, sneaking into his mind. It was too much. Stark felt hot tears on his cheeks. The pain was unbearable. Tony felt as if Loki's memories were tearing his mind apart. Tony closed his eyes and waited for his fate._

However, nothing came. Suddenly he was back into his living room, on his couch. Loki was paler than usual, almost white. Tony was opening his mouth to say something, but in that very moment, blood was falling from Loki's nose, ears, and eyes. He managed to shout Loki's name before the mage slumped from the couch and lost his consciousness. Thanks to Tony's quick reflex, he caught him before the mage hit his head on the floor.

"Check his vitals, FRIDAY!" he ordered his AI, as he gently laid Loki back on the couch. The scanners placed in the ceiling were directed at Loki and were moving from his head to toes.

"Pulse 58, pressure 70/190, body temperature 39.9 Celsius degrees."

"Fuck!" he cursed. "Send me a suit, I can't lift him on my own."

A few seconds later, Stark's suit landed next to him and the engineer let it close on his body. He gathered the unconscious god into his arms and moved towards his ensuite bathroom.

"Fill my bathtub with cold water and have DUM-E bring me a few buckets of ice."

When he stepped into the bathroom, Tony gently placed the god's body in the tub. Loki's head was laid on the edge of the tub. Stark let go of his body and ordered FRIDAY to let him out of the suit. However, before he had a chance to step out fully, Loki's body slipped underwater. Tony jumped into the water without further thought.

"FUCK!" the water was ice cold. Stark was sure he'll have frostbite on every possible inch of his body. Tony took his body into his arms and pressed to his own. "Ccccoommmee oooonnnn, LLlllookkkiii," he said with chattering teeth. "Wwwwaaakkkkeeee uuuupppp!"

Suddenly, Loki's body started to change its color. Tony only saw a glimpse of it in the mage's memories, and now he had a chance to witness it himself. Loki's pale skin slowly turned into a deep blue. Some strange, dark swirls showed up on his neck and face. Stark couldn't stop himself from touching them.

"You have to get out of the tub, boss," FRIDAY warned him. "Your body temperature is getting drastically lower. You're gonna get hypothermia!"

"Sssscccrreeeewwww ttthhaaatttt…" he chattered. "Lllloookkkkiiiii…"

Finally, Loki seemed to hear him. The Trickster opened his eyes slowly, and Tony was amazed once again. Loki's usual green eyes turned into a bloody red. It was marvelous. He would marvel them some more if he wouldn't be freezing to death.

"Stark?" Loki whispered.

"Jjessuusss! Lleettsss gggetttt oouuutttt offff heeerrrreeee…" he grunted and jumped out of the water, pulling Loki with himself. They were standing in the middle of Tony's bathroom soaked to the bone and Tony shaking like a leaf. The always helpful DUM-E placed the buckets with ice on the floor and reached for the fluffy towels from the rack. The bot handed one to each of them. Tony covered himself with his own, as thick as it was possible, while Loki was giving him a confused eye.

"Wwhhhattt?"

"What happened?"

"Yyyooouu fffaiiiinnntteeed…" Tony felt the warm air filling the bathroom, warming him up. FRIDAY must have turned up the heat. The engineer rubbed his hands into the towel to heat them a bit. "I alllmosst gavveee yoouu a cccppprrrr."

"I…" At that very moment, Loki looked down on his hands and spotted how the blue color was slowly disappearing from his body. "Oh no…"

"Hhhheeejjjjj…" Tony grabbed his ice-cold hand. "It'sss oookkk...Yooouuu'reeee jjjjuuussstttt a smurrrffff...A hhhaannndddssooomee onnnneee."

"I am a monster, Anthony," Tony was ready to protest, but Loki dropped his towel and ran out of the bathroom. Despite his shaky legs, Tony made a beeline after him. He caught him by the door of his bedroom and grabbed his arm. Stark turned him towards himself. "What?"

"You're not a monster, Loki," the man was so glad his teeth weren't chattering anymore. "Just because you're blue doesn't mean you're a monster. Besides, I meant it. You're a handsome smurf. And those marks on your body, they're beautiful. What do they mean?"

"I don't know… I destroy most of my race in rage." He admitted quietly, lowering his gaze. "When I discovered _what _am I, I was murderous. I was angry about the lie I've been living in my whole life. I wanted… I wanted to kill two birds in one stone. I wanted to spare myself a fate that was awaiting Laufey's son and I wanted to show Odin that I can destroy them and be as worthy as Thor. I only wanted to be his equal."

"Oh, Loki…" Before his brain could even think, Tony's arms were already circling Loki's stiff frame, ignoring the fact that both were soaked and cold. For a moment Tony had a feeling he's been embracing a cold brick until Loki's arms found their way to Tony's back. Stark should be wiser, for Loki was his enemy once, but this hug with Loki felt too good and too natural, like breathing. Anthony felt good in Loki's arms.

The mortal had no idea, how long they were standing and embracing themselves, but eventually, Loki released him from his arms and took a step back. His cheeks were burning, when he looked at Stark with his usual green eyes.

"I am sorry, you had to see me like this."

"I'm not, Rudolph." Tony smiled brightly. "I liked it. But now I gotta change, 'cuz I feel my balls are frostbitten. It's a terrible feeling, man."

Loki smiled apologetically and raised his right hand above Tony's head. A moment later his clothes were dry and he felt warm. Loki dried himself the same way.

"That's handy."

Loki shrugged his arms in response.

"My memories…" Loki spoke. "Did you see anything useful?"

"You were such an adorable kid," he admitted and Loki glared him. "And you're mom is really hot."

"Anthony…"

"Fine," he waved his hand. "It all happened so fast, that I couldn't focus on everything." Loki pressed his lips in a thin line. "But… in all that chaos I spotted a guy with a fancy necklace with a green stone. And according to the book, the green is the time stone."

"Can you describe that man?"

"I don't remember much, but he was somehow familiar to me. And apparently, he knew me as well," he explained some more. "The guy was talking in English, in Midgardian language. At least that's what I heard in all this chaos. And I saw that in one scene this guy was in some kind of a convent. There were these big windows and someone was screaming something that sounded like _range."_

"It's not much," Loki said. "We still do not know where to find him."

"Not necessarily, Bambi" Loki shot him a confused look. "That guy is from Earth. I bet my ass on it. And he cannot be your regular guy. If he can bear the time stone, he has to have some superpowers, right? I could hold the Tesseract because my body used to run on similar energy. You're a god. And he's definitely from here too."

"Perhaps you are right, Anthony," Loki replied after a while. "Are there many people with unique powers here on Midgard?"

"We're about to find out, Lolo," Tony dragged Loki to his workshop. A few minutes later they were sitting in front of a holographic screen. "What do you say, if we break in SHIELD's database? Because if someone knows anything about our mystery guy, it's Nicky and his merry band."

"Won't they find out about it?"

"Oh, sweetheart, I've hacked Pentagon's database in college. SHIElD's database will be easy peasy." Tony grinned at him. "Just watch as I'm doing my magic, Loki."

"Do your best, Anthony."

Tony smirked and started to work his magic. He was sure that he'll find the mystery guy in no time. And then, they will take the time stone from him and move to find the rest of the infinity stones.

* * *

Sorry for the awol. But I have a good excuse. First, lot's of work. Two, my niece was born so I had to help my brother and sister-in-law with their older kid. Third, I had a birthday two weeks ago. Four, I went away and had no access to a computer. But I'm back!  
I'll try my best to update the new one faster than this.  
Thanks for reading and comments.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX**

"**Time is such a funny concept"**

Surprisingly, Tony didn't find a single useful thing in SHIELD's database. Sure, there was gazillion information about potential heroes/dangers for Earth, but nothing about this _Range _guy, time stone or other infinity stones. Tony was sitting hunched by his desk, while Loki was hovering over him, grumbling displeased. No wonder, SHIELD's database was supposed to be their best shot in this and now they went back to the beginning.

"So, what now?" he dared to ask the question, even though, deep down he knew the answer already.

"We must think of something, Anthony," Loki replied and sat at the edge of the desk. "I will travel to Alfheim. Perhaps the elves will have some answers for us. There are many books in the king's library. Perhaps, because of our past… close relations… he will not rat me out to the Allfather."

"Ex-boyfriend?" Tony asked and Loki nodded reluctantly in response. "And why did you break up? Wait, was it his or your fault?"

"Mine. He fell in love with an idea of impetuous Loki, that I posed as while my stay in his kingdom. However, I had to cease my actions and return to my boring duties of the second prince of Asgard." Yes, Tony understood it perfectly. The guy expected something of Loki and when the demigod turned out to be different the little fairytale was over. Loki shrugged his arms. "Perhaps I'll convince him to not call on Odin."

"I heard you have a silver tongue," Tony added. "Use it and take what we need."

"You want me to sell myself out like a common whore?"

"Use what you're the master at," Loki cocked his head to the left and gave him a confused look. "Words, Bambi. You and I, we're the masters in manipulating words. We don't need guns or swords. Words are our weapons."

"Ah! You are relating to the first time we had spoken in this tower? Mere moments before I threw you out of the window." Tony smirked at him. "Such a fond memory. Well, I shall go now. You try to look more for our mysterious stone bearer, Anthony."

"When will you be back?" He asked when the mage jumped off the desk. Tony stood up as well.

"It's hard to tell, Anthony. Time flies differently in each realm."

"Say, I'll find this Range guy. How will I contact you? The Starkphone I gave you isn't intergalactic, Rudolph. What if I'll be in trouble and… I can't believe I'm saying this, and I will need your help? Or you'll need me?"

"How could you help me from Midgard?"

"I'd figure it out, somehow," Tony stated defensively. "How are we going to stay in touch, when you're playing Jumper, and I sit here, waiting like your little-good-old wife, Rock of Ages?"

Loki laughed throatily and eyed Stark from head to toe. He unclasped the silver necklace he gotten from his mother in his youth. There was an emerald tear joined to it. The mage whispered a spell that his mother taught him years ago and let his magic circle the tear in his hand. A moment later the magic locked in the tear awoke and joined Loki's green magic. The Trickster grabbed one of Stark's hands and clasped it on the necklace, underneath his palm. He closed his eyes and whispered another spell. When the sparks of his magic disappeared, Loki let go of Tony's hand. When they looked at the middle of Loki's opened palm, they spotted two necklaces with smaller tears, but equally beautiful. The god snapped his fingers and one of the necklaces was around his neck and the other was around Tony's.

"Wow," the mortal commented. "Your magic is awesome. I'm so jealous of it!"

"You are the first one to think so, Anthony," he admitted with a shy smile. A faint blush was decorating his cheeks.

"I told you, your people are morons. How could they have such an amazing mage among them and they didn't appreciate him?" The blush on Loki's cheeks was darkening. Damn. It was so adorable. "So, how does it work?"

Loki smiled devilishly and tapped his tear twice.

"_Just like that, Tony," _Stark was observing Loki the whole time. The mage didn't open his mouth, yet, Tony heard his voice in his head. "_Simple, right?"_

"Holy shit!" Tony exclaimed. "Are you reading my mind now?"

"No, you fool," Loki huffed. "I can speak in your mind, as you can in mine, as long as you activate your necklace."

Tony tapped twice his tear as well and tested it.

"_Can you hear me?"_

"_Loud and clear, Tony."_

"_AWESOME!"_

Loki tapped his tear and soon Tony heard nothing but his thoughts.

"Use it only when some dangerous situation will arise," Loki instructed him. "It can distract me during my realm traveling. I wouldn't want to die… I like my life… at least now."

"Alright, Elsa," Loki growled silently at the nickname. "Stay safe. I hope to see you soon."

"Is this sentiment I hear in your voice, Stark?"

"Screw you, I try to be nice for you, asshole."

"I will see you soon, Anthony," Loki's magic was dancing at the tips of his fingers, while the mage was looking at him with something Tony couldn't name. "Stay safe as well."

_Puff. _He disappeared in the smokes of his magic and DUM-E chirped sadly.

"He'll come back," Tony reassured him. "I don't know when, but he will be back."

It didn't reassure the bot at all. He rolled back to his dock-station with his arm lowered. He was a perfect picture of sadness.

"Ok, sweetpea, time to get into work."

"Are you talking to me, or you're mind-speaking with Mr. Loki, boss?" FRIDAY spoke.

"Very funny, Fri, so funny," Tony scolded her. "Since when you're so cheeky?"

"I'm learning from the best, boss."

"Don't charm me, young lady, but get into actual work," he instructed his AI and placed his hands upon the desk. "Ok. We know that there's nothing about the time stone or other infinity stones in SHIELD's database. If I can recall, Thor didn't mention what the Tesseract is in real. Hey! Maybe we should talk with doctor Selvig? Maybe when he was under's Loki influence, he remembered something useful?"

"Don't you think that whatever he may know, he knows from Loki anyway?"

Well, she was right. Tony knocked his knuckles over the desk and started to think. A few minutes later he asked FRIDAY to check all the world's libraries again, to see if there's even a small mention of Agamotto, the time stone or the rest of the infinity stones. When there was no positive result, Tony hit the desk with his fist and leaned back on his chair. Suddenly his body became lighter and he felt as if someone put him inside a warm cocoon. Before he knew, he closed his eyes and his breath became even.

"_Hello, Anthony Stark," he heard a female voice somewhere around him. Tony opened his eyes quickly and looked ahead. A young woman was standing in front of him. She had long, curly brown hair. She was pale, admittedly less than Loki, but still and she had the strangest eyes he had ever seen. One of her eyes was green and the other brown. _

_Tony quickly figured out, who she is._

"_Freya."_

"_I'm so happy to meet you," she outstretched her hand towards him. "I've been waiting for this so long." _

"_Where am I?"_

"_You've been here before," she informed him and pointed at golden light around them. "Quite recently."_

"_Yggdrasil," he replied and she nodded immediately. "But how?"_

"_I brought you here, Tony," well, he figured out, he didn't come here on his own. "I've been observing your and Loki's actions from the very beginning, from the days you've been born. Every step you take, every decision you make, I already know about it."_

"_If you know it, then tell me, how do we defeat Thanos? How do we find him? How do we find the stones?"_

"_My Tony, if only I could… I already messed with the time too much," she shook her head. "I never thought that something can be changed. I always believed that the time must run in the same direction in every loop. Everything that once happened will happen again in another time loop. And yet, by an accident, I changed the latest time loop. You must understand, Tony, that your actions must bring the only reasonable future for the whole galaxy." _

"_Yeah, I get it, Loki and I have to save the universe, but we may need some help," he explained. "Come on, help us out. If you can't tell me everything, at least say where do I find the guy who has the time stone?"_

"_Oh Tony, time is such a funny concept," she laughed. "Did you know that there are places that time does not exist at all? In others, it flies differently? Did you know that there are masters that can wield the time? We are only responsible for the beginning of it, after that, each race manages their own time. Time is something different for every creature. For me, it is a beginning and for you, it is the end. And for the one who will bear the time stone, it will be nothing but a small portion in the universe."_

"_Wait! You said will bear...is this why I couldn't find him? Because he doesn't use the stone yet?" _

"_Your minds are so alike…"_

"_So, if he doesn't have the stone yet, we can get it before him. Where is the stone?" Tony asked again._

"_When the time comes, you will know, Tony. Everything has to happen like it was before."_

Before Tony could respond, Freya and Yggdrasil disappeared and he was back in his workshop. DUM-E was gently poking him in his arm. Stark shook his head and took the offered glass of water from his bot.

"Are you ok, boss?" FRIDAY asked concerned. "Your heart slowed and the temperature of your body dropped by a few degrees. Should I call a doctor?"

"No need, baby girl," he assured his AI. "I just talked with a charming lady. How long since Loki is gone?"

"Six hours and twenty-two minutes," she informed him. "You've been sleeping for five hours. Miss Potts called to remind you about tomorrow's meeting with investors. She also asked if you will introduce her to your new PA, Luke Silver."

"Meeting with the investors… yeah, ok. Remind me about it, FRIDAY. I need to sleep it off."

Tony was thinking about this _Range _guy for few more days. He tried to find him in any possible way, but he failed every time. The guy wasn't the stone user yet, but he still was a mystery for them. Perhaps Loki will have more luck with his ex-boyfriend and find something useful for them.

Stark wondered when they will see each other again. He had no idea when he started to think about Loki as a friend. Well, maybe it was a too big word. Loki was a buddy of his, a partner in saving the universe. A devilishly handsome and charming buddy of his. Tony caught himself a few times already on having dirty thoughts about the Trickster. It was both, exciting and dangerous. And Tony loved this combination.

"Are you even listening to me?" Pepper was giving him a stern look. Potts held him after a board meeting. She just wanted to talk about the new project of Stark Industries. Bullshit, she wanted to interrogate him. And now they were standing in his old office that now belonged to her. "Tony?"

"What do you want, Pepper?"

"We can't get into touch with you. You basically shut us down. You're avoiding me. You don't pick up my calls. You're making decisions about SI without consulting me first. Let me remind you, I'm still the CEO of Stark Industries!" She pointed out. "What's going on with you? Is this about some Avengers business?"

"As you gladly pointed out," he stated. "you're just the CEO of SI, Pepper. You're no longer my girlfriend, ergo I don't have to explain my life to you. And what about the decisions about SI?"

"Your new assistant? This Luke Silver. You basically took him from the streets, without checking him over first. Do you even…"

"Luke is my personal assistant," he cut her off. "He manages things that concern me. I use FRIDAY to dealing with Stark Industries. Luke takes care of other things."

"I'd like to meet him," she pushed again. "He's your PA, which means he's Stark Industries employee. As the CEO it is my prerogative to know my employees."

"I…"

"There you are!" suddenly a male voice interrupted them. Tony turned around and spotted a tall, blonde man with hair loosely falling to his shoulders. The glasses he wore were firmly staying on his slightly sharp nose. He wore a designed green suit and Tony could see there was a white shirt underneath the vest. The man walked closer to them, holding the newest Starkphone in his left hand. "You have a doctor's visit in a half of hour, Anthony. We must go." His eyes moved to the woman before Stark. "Oh, forgive me! Where are my manners! I'm Luke Silver, Personal Assistant of Mr. Stark. It's nice to meet you, Miss Potts."

"See? I told you, Luke takes care of my problems, Pepper," Tony addressed her again. "I have to go now, I have a doctor's visit."

"Are you alright?" for a moment, you could hear a bit of a concern in her voice.

"A man my age has to visit a doctor once in a while, Pepper," he commented and looked at Loki with curiosity in his brown eyes.

If Tony didn't know any better, he wouldn't see any similarity between Luke and Loki, even though Loki only changed the color of his hair, put on glasses and put on a suit. It wasn't much, but still, it was a great camouflage. Great one and truly sexy. Not as sexy as Loki's original form or his blue version, but still, so desirable.

Tony moved his eyes to Pepper and then back to Loki. Pepper was beautiful. Even though until recently Tony saw her as a sexy woman, whom he desired, now it was Loki who occupied this spot in his mind. Tony truly had no idea, when has it changed.

"Let's go," Loki stated firmly and pulled him by his sleeve. Tony went behind the god and waved goodbye at Potts.

"A doctor's visit?" he asked the demigod. "I don't go to doctors, Lo."

"Mortals are a sickly race, am I wrong? It's the only thing that I thought of."

"How did you get here?"

"I stumbled into the tower a half of hour earlier and FRIDAY informed me that you're currently at your business, being interrogated by your ex-girlfriend," he explained, when they stepped out of the building and went to the red jaguar that Tony drove here. "She decided that I shall save you from this unpleasant occurrence."

"Thanks," he replied, as they got into the car. On the road to the tower, they started to talk again. "So, what did you find out from your ex-boyfriend?"

"Nothing much, but I stole a book about ancients beings from his library," Loki admitted proudly. "We will study it, tonight. Have you found anything useful?"

"You will never guess who I talked to, Bambi," Loki looked at him questioningly. "I talked with Freya. She brought me to Yggdrasil, in my sleep, and we've met officially. Turns out, this _Range _guy doesn't have or use the stone yet, and that's probably why he's not in SHIELD's database. As predicted, she won't help us in finding other stones as well. All she's talking is time, you know. Like that everything must happen as it happened before and all that shit. So, I guess that we're still in deep shit. Maybe your book will help us some more."

Later as they were sitting on the couch, both crunched over the book, Tony observed how Loki's green eyes were moving across the runes. The demigod was kind enough to cast a spell on the book, so Tony could read it as well.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Loki's question shook him out of his little admiration. Sue him, Loki was gorgeous and you had to admire his beauty. The green eyes of the Trickster crossed with his. "Anthony?"

"I like watching pretty things," There it was again, the slight, but adorable blush on Loki's pale cheeks. Tony hadn't seen anything more lovely in his long life. Yes, he had hots for Loki. The question is, what now? Should he address it somehow? Was it worth it? Do Loki and he match? Or is it because of this bond they are connected by? It was so difficult!

Loki didn't comment on his words but got back to reading the book. Tony moved closer on the couch and started to read as well. A few pages and many runes and images later, there was finally something interesting.

"The Five Elders of the Universe interested the Great Galactus, for they possess the powers of the ancient cosmic entities. Those powers once contained in the forms of gems gave tremendous power to those, who could wield it. Those Elders were called the guardians of the infinite power," Loki read. "They were known in the universe as the _Champion, Collector, Gardener, Grandmaster, and Runner." _

"Ok, we have our great five… but there are six stones."

"The soul stone was never found…"

"Alright," Tony nodded to that. "So, now we read everything about these Elders of the Universe and we'll know where the stones are? Easy peasy."

"Look," Tony didn't even acknowledge when Loki turned pages. "Ord Zyonz was known as the one who seeded worlds to match his aesthetic ideals. And his last creation was the youngest realm in the universe. Legends say that after creating the worlds, Ord Zyonz lost the purpose of his life and passed his powers to a guardian of his latest creation."

"Earth is the youngest realm, right?" Loki agreed with this. "So their new guardian was from Earth as well. I bet my ass on that the new guardian didn't give the stone to someone else."

"Let's read more," Loki turned another page. "Ord Zyonz was so impressed with his last creation that he stayed in the furthest and well-hidden place in the realm. His home placed on the highest mountain, so he could easily reach the powers hidden in the sky."

"So, this Ord guy hid in the mountains," Tony easily concluded. "I bet his little guardians hide there as well. I was never great in geography. FRIDAY, help daddy out. Where are the highest mountains on Earth?"

"Himalayas, boss."

Tony smirked in Loki's direction.

"Pack, Lolo. We're going on a trip. We'll find you some warm jacket and boots," Tony stood up from the couch and fished out his phone to arrange their travel. "Himalayas, here we come! I have a feeling, we'll find some answers there, Loki. Who knows, maybe we'll find this Range guy as well. We'll travel in two days. FRIDAY, order everything we may need. I feel we'll have some success, Bambi. I can feel it in my bones."


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter X**

"**A journey into the unknown"**

The private jet of Anthony took them to some lowly recognizable Midgardian city. Loki didn't know nor he cared for the name of it. The mortal warned him that they would have to walk a lot, for they had no idea where to look for the time stone.

They were walking blindly for five days in the Himalayas, sleeping at some locals' houses thanks to their courtesy. On one hand, Loki was glad that Anthony was so well-known in his realm. They could always find someplace to rest for a night. On the other, some mortals were unnerving, asking for Tony's constant attention.

"I thought they won't let me go," Stark groaned when they stepped into a small chamber in the old-couple wooden house. Tony dropped on the bed and kicked off his shoes. "I swear, my jaw is hurting from smiling. Sometimes, I hate being so popular, you know."

"Oh, a tragedy indeed," Loki muttered and sat next to him on _their bed. _

Yes, for the past five days they were sharing a bed. None of them wanted to sleep on the hard floor. Sleeping in the strange cocoons that Tony called _a sleeping bag_ was simply uncomfortable and below Loki's standards. The first night together was a test of the trust they had between each other. None of them dared to sleep for more than a few minutes. The next morning both were too exhausted and so they made a magical vow to each other. None will hurt the other neither in sleep nor on a bright day. They sealed the vow with drops of their blood. Ever since then, the mortal and demigod felt a bit safer around each other.

"Don't laugh at my misery, Bambi," Tony complained and bumped Loki onto his shoulder. The Trickster didn't feel even slight pain. Stark unzipped his red jacket and threw it onto a wooden stool near the window. "Ok. Here's the thing. I saw that there's no bathroom here. They only have an old iron washtub in the second room. I also saw that they have a well, so I bet that's where they get water for everything around here. According to the map, there's a small lake about a kilometer from here, however, I'd rather not freeze my balls off again. I'd give up all my money for a shower right now… I haven't bathed in three days."

"Then use their washtub," Loki advised him.

"There's no door in that room, Lolo."

"Do you fear that someone will look?"

"Once upon a time, there was this homemade movie in the net where you could see basically Tony in all his glory, Rock of Ages, so it's not that…" Loki gestured with his hand for the man to continue. "Ok, maybe I'm a little embarrassed. I'm not as young as I used to be, Lo."

The Trickster rolled his eyes and huffed.

"I can use my seidr on you," he said. "It was a way for me to clean up while on hunts with Thor and his friends. There wasn't always a lake nearby."

"And you're telling me that now?!" Tony was shocked and offended. "Come on, do your hocus pocus, Harry Potter."

Loki laughed and placed his opened palm over Tony's head. A moment later the green sparks of his seidr fell onto Stark.

"I smell like a garden now," the mortal commented when the spell was over. He sniffed his shoulder. "It's nice. I don't know this flower."

"It's from my mother's garden."

"Cool. Ok, we gotta get out of these thick clothes and hit the bed," Tony stated as he took off his thick, black pants. Underneath it, he wore a thermal undergarment that he used as pajamas as well.

Loki didn't feel this cold like Tony did, so he opted for simple night pants and a tunic. Stark opened a window in their shared room and spit the toothpaste out of his mouth. He handed Loki the other, green toothbrush with a paste on so the god could clean his teeth. Loki had to admit that mortals were a clever race, full of interesting inventions.

As soon as they were in a bed, Loki felt Tony shivering. The bed wasn't too big, so they were laying almost side to side. For a moment, he wondered, whether it was because of the cold weather or something else? But they had gotten a thick cover, from the couple that was housing them. The Trickster turned his head to the side and spotted in the dimmed light that Tony's cheeks were rosy.

"Are you ill?" he asked in concern. "Anthony?"

"No!" the mortal quickly retorted. He turned his back to Loki and faced the wall. "Let's just sleep, ok? Goodnight, Loki."

"Goodnight, Anthony."

Roughly four hours later, Loki felt some heaviness and warmth on his left side. He opened his eyes immediately, full-on alert, and conjured one of his daggers into his right hand. He was ready to attack when he turned his head to the side and spotted the cause of the warmth. Tony slept, curled into Loki's side with an arm thrown across the mage's belly. The Aesir smiled to himself. He hadn't shared a bed with anyone in centuries, so the feeling of it was foreign to him, but very pleasant indeed.

Suddenly, he was hit with lightning. At that very moment, he realized, he doesn't mind sharing a bed with Tony Stark. He doesn't mind the closeness of the other's body. Moreover, he desired it. Loki had no idea when exactly his mind and body started to have such a reaction towards the mortal. Was it because of the bond that Freya connected them with? Or was it something else?

Loki had to admit, Tony was truly attractive. Not just physically, but his mind was incredible too. And his tongue was almost as sharp as Loki's. The mage hadn't met such a similar creature to him. Despite being a mortal, Tony fascinated Loki on so many levels.

It was dangerous and exciting at the same time.

Hm… was this the reason that Freya bonded them? Did she know… of course, she knew. She must have known that Loki will start seeing Stark in a different way. That he will _fancy_ him.

"Loki…" he heard the mortal whisper in his sleep. "Loki…"

"Are you dreaming of me, dear Anthony? Oh, how I would like to see myself in your dreams," he whispered back to him.

It was so tempting to see into Tony's head. So tempting. However, he promised Anthony that he shan't use his seidr on him, without his consent. Loki didn't want to break his trust. When did it change as well? Did he start to care for Stark? Did he have some feelings for the man?

Those thoughts were twirling through Loki's mind until the early morning. Loki didn't push Stark away, nor he returned the hug.

He heard a loud moan and a moment later, Stark froze next to him.

"Good morning, Tony," he greeted him calmly.

Iron Man retracted his hand and body from him.

"I'm sorry!" he quickly sat on the bed, as far from Loki as he could. "I haven't slept with someone in one bed for too long… damn… did I earlier…"

"Do not fret, Anthony," he patted the man's palm reassuringly. "I shared a bed with Thor. At least you're not as heavy as he was. We should go, perhaps they will share some food with us."

"I'm really sorry, Loki…"

Loki waved his hand at him and changed his clothes. Tony bit down on his lower lip and put his clothes on as well. They left their room and went to the third room in the home that was used as a small kitchen. The old couple was sitting by an oval table talking to each other. Loki greeted them in their home language thanks to the Allspeak and translated their words for his companion again. They ate a fast breakfast. Some local goulash and freshly baked buns. They drank a cup of hot, herbal drink and left for another part of their journey.

After several dozen days in the mountains, both Tony and Loki lost the proper count of the time. Days were blending, and the uninhabited lands of Himalayas were stirring them crazy. Loki was often thinking about using his seidr, however, he had no idea where and how to look for the stone. He did not know a proper spell and a simple locating spell wouldn't work out, seeing as he had never seen or touched the time stone himself. He didn't know its working and magical aura. It was beyond frustrating and tiring.

"We have to get through these mountains," Tony stated, pointing at the view before them. "According to the map, it's an uninhabited place, but one could never know."

"I agree."

"But I have to rest, first," Loki quickly looked around. He spotted a cave near the isthmus they will have to walk through. He grabbed Tony by his wrist and teleported them inside.

The mage cast a quick echo spell to determine if the cave is empty. When he was assured of it, he conjured a fire by the furthest wall and walked Tony to it. The man sat on the cold ground and Loki joined him as well. He fished out a thermos with a coffee from Tony's backpack. They boiled water from time to time to not die of dehydration. Tony drank coffee as well. Loki will never understand how he could like the horrible drink.

The fire was warming them nicely. Tony rubbed his hands covered by thick gloves.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, it's just… I'm so fucking tired, Lo," he whined. "We're walking blindly for so many days… I feel we're getting to nowhere, you know."

"Do you want to give up?"

"No! It's just… I don't know… maybe I'm slowly losing my hope in our success… I don't know."

"Hey," Loki grabbed him by his chin and forced to look him in the eyes. "We will succeed. We're in this together, Anthony. We cannot fail. Freya saw that. We will succeed. We will find that damned stone and then the others and save the whole universe from Thanos. They will sing glories about us. Iron Man and Loki, the ones who saved all realms. They will remember us until the Ragnarok. Have some faith, Tony. We can do this, together."

"Since when you've become such an optimist? It's usually me, who's positive in our duo, Reindeer Games."

"I have faith in us, Anthony. I believe in you, Iron Man."

Tony didn't respond to it, but he stared into Loki's eyes intensely. The mage had no idea, what he had read from them, but suddenly, Tony placed his palm over Loki's cool cheek. The Trickster shivered under the touch. It was so gentle, so intimate and so foreign to Loki that he couldn't stop himself from leaning into it. Before he knew, Tony pressed his lips to his in a gentle kiss.

Loki froze in his spot and opened his eyes widely.

The kiss didn't last long. When Loki didn't kiss him back, Tony pulled back and lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry! I…"

"Why?" Loki whispered.

"Look… I won't beat around the bush, Loki. I like, so damn fucking much... " he explained. "But I see it was clearly my mistake. I won't do I…"

Loki didn't give him a chance to finish, as he grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him back to himself. He kissed the mortal hungrily, shocking the younger man. Loki forgot how kisses are like, both passionate or gentle. But Tony knew how to kiss. As soon as Tony woke up from his shock, he started to engage in the kiss. His tongue was licking Loki's lower lip to ask for an entrance. When their tongues met, the dance for domination began. At first, none of them wanted to give up the dominance, but eventually, Tony let Loki win and lead the kiss however the god wanted. Oh, he was truly surprised by the talent of the silver tongue of his companion. He couldn't stop moaning from the pleasure. Loki moved his hand on Stark's neck and drew him even closer to himself.

They kissed for a few more moments before Stark ran out of breath. They pulled away and Loki realized that Tony's cheeks are rosy once again.

"Wow…" the brown-eyed man sighed. "I rarely ran out of words, but… wow…"

"It wasn't that bad," Loki joked and got a punch on his arm in a return.

"Hey! I'm a master of kissing!" the Iron Man protested. "You'll be shocked next time."

"Oh, so there will be next time?"

"I hope so," he looked at Loki with uncertainty. "Unless you don't want to. I'll understand."

Loki leaned closer to him and whispered to his ear.

"I do."

After that moment, they kissed multiple times.

It was the middle of the day when they found themselves on the border of some city that wasn't on Tony's map. It was strange since the city seemed to be very alive. They looked around. The city was hidden between high mountains. Tony looked at Loki knowingly and dragged him towards the closest stall.

"Ask him, where the hell we are," he said to Loki.

The mage turned to the old, bald man, who was presenting his works to them.

"Kamar-Taj," the old man replied, looking at Tony. "American."

"Yes, I'm an American," Tony confirmed, gesturing at the space before them. "Why is this city not on the maps?"

Loki translated his question.

"This is a sacred city," Loki translated the old man's reply. "Only those that need help can find it. I guess you can get a medic's help here."

"Ask about Agamotto."

"He's the patron of the temple on the highest mountain," Tony hasn't smiled so brightly in years. Loki joined him in this enthusiasm. It seemed they reached their destination. "Only certain people can walk into the temple. To walk into it, you must pass a test."

Tony bought a small pot from the man, as a thank you for the information and left him a hundred dollars for it. They started their walk towards the temple. When they passed a corner, they heard some male's voice.

"You're looking for information about Agamotto?" Surprisingly, someone was speaking English to them. Loki looked closer into the alley and spotted some shadow behind a garbage can. He conjured his daggers and made his way slowly to it. There was some hunched man sitting behind it. "How do you know about him?"

"We have our source," Stark replied. "Who are you and what can you tell us about Agamotto… well, we're looking for the little gem he was…"

"So, you're looking for the sacred eye of Agamotto?" Tony nodded to that. "You won't find it in the temple."

"Where will we find it then?" Loki asked him.

"In the Sanctuary… The Ancient One and her students are guarding it."

"Ancient One?" Loki wondered loudly. "Is she a mage? I never heard of her."

"She can use the power of the eye and more," the man added. "Beware of them. Don't underestimate them."

The man pointed them the direction of the sanctuary and surprisingly, he didn't want anything in exchange for it. Tony guessed it could be a personal vendetta of his. Perhaps this Ancient One has wronged him deeply. After a few minutes of a quick walk, they found themselves in front of a building described as the Sanctuary. They looked at each other with uncertainty and knocked at the door. It took a while, but eventually, the old, heavy door was opened, revealing a tall man with a goatee similar to Tony's. The man wore a blue outfit and a fancy red, long cape with a stand-up collar. But the most important was the shiny little thing on his neck.

"Tony Stark…" the mystery man greeted him. "I did not expect that."

"You have something that we truly need, Mister _Range…"_

"Strange. Doctor Stephen Strange."


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter XI**

"**A friend or a foe?"**

Strange looked at them skeptically, when Tony was explaining to him the reason for their travel here. As much as he could, of course. Stark was a genius and he knew he couldn't reveal everything to this wizard of Oz yet. At least until they will be sure they can trust him.

"So?" Tony added after his long monologue. Loki was standing next to him on the square behind the Sanctuary, in a protection mode. It was cute. Tony was fond of him more and more with every passing second. "Mister Strange?"

"Doctor Strange," he corrected him immediately.

"Jeez, are we going to proclaim our Ph.D.s?" Stark sighed. "Fine. Then I guess I go with Doctor Stark, after all, I have a Ph.D. too. Different than yours, but still."

"I won't give you Agamotto's eye," Strange replied. "I am the protector of it and only I can wield it."

"I strongly advise you to give it to us, Strange," Loki spoke for the first time since they got here. "Otherwise, I will have to take it off your dead body. I will not leave without the stone. The question is, whether I let you live or not."

"Loki!" Tony hissed at him. Loki rolled his eyes at Stark before he turned his gaze back on Strange. "We don't kill people!"

"You don't, Tony," Loki pointed out. "I, on the other hand, have some experience in this matter."

"No!" Tony disagreed with him. "We don't kill people. Period."

"Your little married fight is adorable," Strange interrupted them and outstretched his hand and moved it around. A moment later an orange ring appeared before him. "And now, if you don't mind, goodbye gentlemen."

Strange pushed the ring on them, but Loki quickly stopped it with his seidr. Strange was clearly shocked.

"Yeah," Tony clicked his tongue. "My boyfriend is better in this whole mumbo-jumbo, Strange."

"Who are you?" Strange asked Loki.

"I am Loki, the god of mischief, lies, and fire, the second prince of Asgard, a rightful heir to Jotunheimr's throne," Loki was listing. "And the conqueror of Earth."

"You don't have to boast about it, babe," Tony muttered to him.

"The invasion in 2012… it was you!" Strange sent another of his orange rings at them, but Loki stopped them with his seidr again. "How can you help him, Stark? You are the Iron Man! You should protect the Earth from the enemies not becoming lovers with them!"

"I see, you didn't get it, Strange," he sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, Loki invaded Earth with the Chitauri army, but he didn't plan it. It's all Thanos. Big, bad, ugly, purple guy, who's the biggest dream is to wipe half of the universe off. Loki was… sorry honey… he was his tool. He used Loki for his purpose. In fact, if Thanos would use someone else, we'd still be in deep shit, Strange. However, Thanos didn't predict that the second Thor sniffs Loki's magic on Earth, he will come for him. Avengers formed thanks to Loki. Ok, we don't have the team at this very moment, but we have two Asgardian gods on our side. One of them is the best mage in the entire universe and the other has a magical hammer and he can swings it pretty badass. They know, how to fight guys like Thanos better than we."

Strange was glaring Tony and Stark did the same. Loki had had enough. He huffed and before Strange could do anything, Loki was face to face with him. The mage grabbed the medallion to rip it off Strange's neck. However, he was met with resistance. The stone hidden in the medallion burnt his hand and the magic hidden within it sent Loki down to the ground with a loud thud. Tony jumped towards him immediately.

"Loki!"

"I am alright," he responded and looked down at his hand.

There was a black burn mark in the middle of his hand. The skin around the burn turned into the blue shade that Loki hated the most. Loki tried to will his Aesir illusion back to his hand, but he couldn't, something was blocking it. Strangely, he didn't feel any pain. He felt numbness, even though he felt everything around the wound.

Tony got up and hauled Loki with him. He looked angry at Strange again.

"Ok, enough with this. Give up the stone, Strange!"

"No," Strange said blandly and took a step back.

Strange raised his hands again and made his orange rings. Loki sent his seidr towards it to stop it. However, before he had a chance to use some counter-spell, Strange's rings appeared beneath him and Tony.

And they were falling.

They weren't falling long, maybe a few minutes. But they were the worst few minutes in Loki's existence. Tony's scream in terror was hurting his ears. Loki's heart yearned to comfort his mortal, yet he couldn't do anything more but to grab him into his arms.

Finally, Loki spotted the orange rings again. A moment later, they landed on a cold, marble floor. The mage kept his stronghold on the mortal.

Stark was trashing in his arms, trying to shake Loki off himself. His eyes were still closed and voice was breaking.

"Anthony, please, open your eyes," he said calmly. "You're not in the void, Tony. Tony."

Not knowing what to do more, Loki pressed Tony's hand to his heart, so the mortal could feel his heartbeat. He was whispering to him the words of comfort until Tony was calm enough to open his eyes.

"You are safe, Tony. You are on Midgard," the mage whispered, looking into his brown eyes full of fear. "I'm here, with you, my love."

"Lo...ki…"

"Yes."

It took a few more moments before Tony was finally calm and he fell to the floor next to Loki. The mage grabbed his hand in his and pulled him up with himself. When they were standing stable on the floor, Loki released his hand and turned to Strange, focusing on his seidr. The mage grabbed Stephen with his seidr and raised him, choking him.

"You wretched mortal!" Loki growled at him. "How dare you attack your superiors?! How dare you attack Anthony with your low spells?! You will die and I will take the medallion off your neck, whether you like it or not.

"Loki," Tony grabbed him by his arm and turned to face him. "Don't kill him, he may be…"

Stark didn't have a chance to finish, as he suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs. He grabbed his head and fell to his knees.

"TONY!" Loki retrieved his seidr and jumped towards his lover.

Tony was rocking back and forth. He closed his eyes, but Loki still could see how they were moving behind his eyelids. He was muttering something in a language that was foreign to Loki, even though he possessed the Allspeak he couldn't understand a single thing of it. Loki tried to talk to him, he placed his hands on his face to wake him up, but to no avail. Tony's body was on Midgard, but his spirit seemed to be elsewhere. Somewhere, where Loki couldn't reach him.

"Does he do it often?" Strange spoke to him. Loki wanted to rip his heart out. "What is happening to him?"

"I don't know," Loki replied, and turned back to his partner. "Tony? Can you hear me?"

"_Yggdrasil," _Tony whispered as his body froze.

Loki touched his face again only to discover that it was as cold as his skin when he turned into a blue monster. Stark opened his eyes and Loki realized they were golden, like Heimdal's, who saw everything. Tony's eyes crossed with Loki's greens. The mage couldn't read anything from them. The change lasted a moment. Finally, Anthony's eyes turned to their natural color and the temperature of his body raised to normal for humans. Stark started to pant and he fell into Loki's arms.

"Tony?!"

"Loki… Loki…" the mortal grabbed him strongly by his shoulders. Of course, the mage didn't feel any pain, Tony didn't have enough strength for this. Tony placed his forehead on Loki's chest and took a deep breath. "Freya…"

"She called you to Yggdrasil?" Tony murmured his confirmation. "What had she shown you?"

Tony pushed himself from Loki and looked behind the mage. Strange was giving him a curious look. Loki looked between the earth's wizard and Iron Man.

"Freya showed me something else, Reindeer Games," Tony didn't take his eyes off Stephen. "She showed me what had happened and what will happen. What has to happen as it happened before. What we have to do to achieve our goal. Whom we have to get to our side, to work with us." He made a dramatic pause before he spoke again. "And Strange is one of these people. He has to keep the stone until we'll be in the endgame."


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII**

"**With great power comes great responsibility"**

Tony's head was burning. Ever since Freya released him back from Yggdrasil, he couldn't stop the heat attacking his brain cells. It was frustrating. No medication helped him, neither Loki's healing spells. However, the god of mischief brought him a small relief by turning his hands blue and pressing it hard to Tony's temples.

"You're so good to me, Lokes," Tony moaned when Loki circled his fingers over Tony's temples. He wasn't even ashamed of the sounds he was making.

"I am glad to be of help, Anthony," the god replied softly. "Did your headache lessen?"

"Not really, but your touch helps, Lo."

"Will you tell me what she had shown you?"

Tony cracked one eye open and looked up at Loki from his spot on the god's lap. Green eyes of the Silvertongue were focused on his face. He was worried, Stark could easily tell. To be all honest, Tony would be too, if it was Loki, who's been infected with Freya's magic like that. Or rather, by the Yggdrasil's magic. Tony wasn't one hundred percent sure of this, but this time the magic that flown through him was stronger than the previous time when Freya used hers on him. It was more powerful, heavier and more...sacred if that made any sense.

"There were so many things she showed me…"

Tony turned on Loki's lap to press his face into the god's belly, hidden underneath his Asgardian soft tunic. Yeah, he was extra clingy with Loki lately. But he had a right to do so. They were at the beginning of a relationship. Tony was allowed to be clingy and stupidly in love. Not that he admitted that to the god. Hell no. It was too early for that. He fell in love with Loki somewhere during their almost three months of travel to Kamar-Taj. He didn't even know when it happened? Was it because they started to share a bed? Or was it because, they started to share secrets, thus learning more about one another. Tony finally understood who Loki was. It turned out the god was very similar to him in ways no one ever was before. He was challenging him on a daily basis and at the same time, he was understanding everything in Tony's life, even his complex mind. So, how could Tony not fall for him? Especially, when the god turned out to be a truly cute guy and overprotective of Tony. It was such a turn on.

"Then show me," Loki stated, brushing his cool lips over Tony's forehead. Stark pushed himself from Loki's belly and looked at the god's face with a silent question in his brown eyes. "Do you remember how I showed you my memories for the first time with my seidr?"

"Yeah."

"I can do the same with yours," he informed Tony. "I can take this memory out of your mind or simply link myself to your head. However, the linking with someone's mind can be tricky… you should know, you've been in my head... I would rather take this one memory out of your mind for me to play out."

"Ok," Tony quickly agreed and sat on the couch next to Loki. "Do it, Lo. I trust you."

"You are the first one to do so, my dear Anthony."

"Well, the others did not know what they are missing, babe," he leaned closer and pressed his lips to Loki's in a soft kiss, a peck. "You are wonderful."

"You're sentimental," Loki smiled at him. "But the sentiment is reciprocated."

Tony grinned.

"Do your mumbo-jumbo, babe. I'm ready."

Loki's hands turned into their usual paleness. The god took a deep breath and placed his hands back on Tony's temples. They were warmer now, which wasn't very pleasant for Stark's burning head, but he will manage. Loki closed his eyes and started to chant something in, what Tony could only guess, was Asgardian's language. Green mist of Loki's seidr circled them and separated from everything else, suddenly Tony felt as if they were in their own bubble.

It was then when Tony felt Loki inside of his head. At first, it was like a warm ray of the sun, which was strange, since Loki is usually cold. The mage's seidr was brushing his mind so affectionate as if Loki would do it with his real hand. Even Tony's mind couldn't help but lean into this touch. He relaxed naturally and let the seidr works its magic, pun intended. With every passing second, Loki's seidr was getting more and more into Tony's mind, circling inside of it, pushing away memories that were attacking him and focusing on the important one.

Tony felt as if his head burst in flames again before everything died. He felt no longer any pain nor Loki's magic. Stark opened his eyes and looked at his godly boyfriend. Loki was holding a green energy ball in his hands and was smiling at Tony. The mage pushed the ball to the middle of the glass coffee table and watched it unfold, like the previous time. Tony watched it too.

_Stark kneeled in the middle of something, with hands wrapped around his head. He didn't feel any pain now. _

"_Loki?" he asked before he opened his eyes. He was hit with a bright light immediately, blinding him for a moment. He blinked a few times to adjust himself to the sudden brightness, even though it hurt like hell. It took him a moment, but finally, he was able to make out some shapes in front of him. There was someone, maybe this Strange guy or Loki. He tried to call out to his boyfriend again. "Loki? Loki?"_

"_Hello again, Tony." That voice. Tony knew it. His head turned to the side, where he heard the voice from and spotted her. She looked the same as before. The same clothes, the same hair. _

"_Freya." The young woman nodded. "I assume, I'm on the Yggdrasil again?"_

"_You assume correct," she informed him. Tony's eyes used to the brightness by now and the man stood up to face the goddess. "I needed to contact you before something unexpected would happen."_

"_You mean Strange?" She nodded quickly. "Why do I have a feeling I won't like it?"_

"_You must know that everything has to happen the way it had happened before, until the very end," Freya spoke, taking his hand into his. Her touch was cool but not as cool as Loki's. It was pleasant. "Nothing can be changed, until the endgame."_

"_Endgame?" he asked. "It sounds so crazy. Ok. Let's talk like adults here. You wanted me and Loki to find the stones and save the universe, but now you want us to let Strange have the stone? I don't get it." _

"_Somethings will reveal themselves soon, you will understand then." Tony shook his head to this. "You will, Tony. And so will Loki. You will see, the reasons for the things that must happen as they did before. People, creatures that are important in this that you must work with, must act as they did before. Until the…"_

"_Yeah, yeah, until the fricking endgame…" he interrupted her. " But tell me, if we're to work with Strange and apparently others too… how do we manage to find other stones? There are no more stones on Earth. And the three are somewhere in the space. I doubt that Strange knows where or how to find them. So, how? Give me something here, Freya." _

"_I cannot tell you, Tony," she gave him a small smile that was somehow familiar to him, however, Tony couldn't pinpoint it to anyone then. "For you know that already. You know how to find them. You know how to collect them, but you are not the only one who collects and who has the power."_

"_You mean Thanos?" she didn't reply to that. _

"_There are creatures you must work with," she said instead. "But remember, you are the hope for everyone."_

_Suddenly Tony's head was burning again and Freya disappeared with the Yggdrasil. _

Loki dismissed the ball of his seidr and they both fell silent. Freya's words were enigmatic as always, at least for Tony.

"I don't really know how to find them," Tony admitted after a moment, daring to look at Loki. The said god was looking ahead, with some distance in his eyes. "Lo? Babe? Rock of Ages? Snow White? Elsa?"

"I will cut your tongue out for those names, Stark."

"Yeah, yeah, love you too, babe." Tony's eyes shot open in fear. Damn! He wasn't ready to declare his feelings to Loki. This wasn't meant to happen like that. He bit down on his lower lip to stop himself from panicking. Thankfully, Loki seemed to not acknowledge this slip of a tongue. Tony quickly decided to get back to the main topic. "So? Do you understand anything from that riddle? I swear to god, that girl knows how to make a riddle, right? She's like fricking Mr. Edward Nigma, the Riddler. I mean… how can she even come up with something like that? She thinks I know how to find them and collect them like some fucking collector."

Tony never has seen anyone turn their head so quickly as Loki did at that very moment. Suddenly, Loki's face was so close to his that their noses touched. Green eyes were looking so deep and intensive into his browns. Tony could easily see how his pupils were blown. Tony understood then. Loki figured it out.

"What did you say?"

"That she's thinking me some kind of fucking collector."

"You brilliant mortal!" Loki exclaimed and kissed him so suddenly, that they fell back on the bed. "You're a genius!"

"I know," he replied the obviousness, however, he still didn't get it. "But what do you mean this time?"

"Freya knew you will understand," Loki laughed so beautifully. He kissed Tony once again and Stark could feel the smile on his lips. "My brilliant Anthony. My sweet human."

"Ok, I love compliments as every guy next door, but I still don't get it, babe."

"You know how to collect them, but you are not the only one who collects and who has the power," Loki repeated the words from the memory. "You called yourself the collector and…"

"Oh god!" Tony finally understood. It was so obvious. "Your mom's book. The Entities… The Collector! Oh my god… he has the power stone!"

"How do you know?" this time it was Loki who was slightly confused.

"I'm not the only one who collects them and he has the power… Loki… the Collector has the power stone…" Tony was so ecstatic to figure it out. "Oh! She's been helping us without actual help. She's so brilliant! We must find him, this Collector guy. Do you know where he could be?"

"I've heard his name when I was a youngling," Loki explained, leaning back on the couch. Tony sat up as well and grabbed the mage's hand in his, giving a small squeeze. "He was… is a being that collects...hmmm… extraordinary things. I should think of it before! Of course, that he will be the one to has a stone."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Knowhere."

"He must be somewhere, Lo."

"No, no. Knowhere," he explained shortly. "It's a place in the universe. I've heard about it, but I have not traveled to it."

"So, how do we get there?"

"We?" Loki questioned him.

"Did you honestly think, I will let you go by yourself?" Tony gave him a pointed look. "I just need to make some new adjustments to Iron Man's suit and I'll be ready to go. Give me four days, Lo."

"I must warn you, Anthony," Loki's smile dropped. "I am not the favored prince of Asgard and I met several people who are not very fond of me. He may not be willing to speak with me, let alone with you."

"Don't worry, Reindeer Games," Tony assured him and patted the top of his hand. "That man sounds like a businessman, and I can talk business. You just need to figure out how to get us to this Knowhere place. And leave the rest to me."

"I may be helpful with that," they suddenly heard a familiar voice behind their backs. They turned around and spotted the God of Thunder with Mjolnir in his hand. "Hello Brother, Tony. I've been sent to help you out in your travel to Knowhere."


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter XIII**

"**Ahead to space"**

Loki's body stiffened the second he heard Thor's voice in the room. His heart started to beat faster and his breath quickened. With the corner of his eye, he spotted Tony having similar reactions. Before he could do anything, Stark jumped from the couch and pulled him up with himself only to push Loki behind in the next second. He furiously pressed something on his metal bracelets and murmured under his nose something that Loki couldn't decode.

"Stay where you are!" Stark growled when Thor took a step closer to them. "Seriously, Thor, I'm warning you! Stay where the hell you are now!"

"I come in peace, my friend," Thor raised his arms in the air in surrender. "I truly mean you no harm."

"How can I trust you to not take Loki away? I know he's been wanted by your dear old dad."

Thor lowered his arms and sighed.

"Tis a true, my friend," Thor tried again. "Loki was wanted alive by my father and the court. However, due to the attack on the palace by the dark elves and Loki's saving our mother and my dear Jane, father lessened his sentence. Loki fleed, of course, and by doing so he angered our father…"

"He's not my father," Loki hissed from behind Tony. Thunderer only shrugged his arms.

"When I parted ways with Jane after Ultron's failure, I went back to Asgard and due father's orders started to restore peace in nine realms again. It took me a while, but finally, all nine realms were at peace," Thor explained further. "Then I came here when Heimdall heard you call for me, friend Tony. When you asked for the book and I passed the message to my mother, she had a premonition. There were things from the future she saw and she made me and father understand Loki's role in the battle with Thanos. For it will happen, we cannot stop it, no matter how much we would want it."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Thus, mother made father change the punishment set out for Loki and his punishment for the crimes against Midgard, Asgard, and Jotunheimr are to stay on Midgard until he'll be deemed worthy of coming back home."

"And who will decide on this?" Loki asked, moving to stand next to Tony. The mortal grabbed his hand on instinct and intertwined them. "Who will decide if I'm worthy enough? I cannot lift Mjolnir."

"That is true," Thor replied. "Father already deemed you worthy, when he saw how you handled the Midgard's mage and how you are working with Tony, who was once your enemy."

"Are you saying Loki can go back to Asgard and he won't be thrown into a dungeon or whatever the hell you have up there?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Tony's smile lopsided down. Not so long ago, Loki explained that he misses his home, but there is no possibility for him to go back there, as long as he doesn't want to be imprisoned. But now he could.

"However, I can clearly see he doesn't want to," at that Loki glared his brother.

Trust Thor to be so open about Loki's feelings. Despite the hatred the mage had for the Thunderer, the blonde oaf could easily read him like an open book. At least when it came to what was happening in Loki's heart. And lately, so much had happened in there.

It was shocking at first. In such a short time, only a few Midgardian months, Loki developed confusing feelings for Tony. Truth to be told, he found him intriguing from the very first talk they had in the man's tower all those years ago. From everything he had learned from Barton then, he knew Stark to be one of the most intelligent people in this realm. Stark was also very brave and he didn't see everything so plain black and white. Tony was pushing to learn everything and only then he deemed something worthy of his time or not.

When they started their alliance, they were wary of each other. They couldn't blame themselves. They were still enemies then. However, with every next meeting and talk they had, they suddenly realized they are very similar. They had lots of things in common. Loki decided then it was why Freya bonded them.

This bond, however, Loki hated it at the beginning, was one of the best things that could happen to him. Never in his life, he expected an alliance turns into something more. The mage didn't have the slightest idea when his feelings started to develop. One day he considers Anthony his friend and the next one, he sees him in another light, possibly as a lover. His heart was beating faster when he was next to him. His breath quickened. His palms were sweaty and there was this strange feeling inside his belly. He felt like a youngling that discovers his first silly love, a childish one. And yet, Loki loved the feeling with everything he had. He loved the kisses Tony shared with him. He loved to lay next to his mortal in Tony's bed. He loved to touch Tony's heated, bare skin, as they started to give themselves small touches. No, Tony hasn't taken him to his bed properly, yet. He's ought to bed him yet. But Loki is not pushing him. He has all the time to wait.

Right now they had more important things at their hands. They needed to deal with Thanos.

"Right…" Tony drawled and looked from Loki to Thor. "You said, you're here to help us get to Knowhere. Who sent you here?"

"Mother," Thor responded. "Heimdall heard you and Loki speaking about it and advised mother. She immediately sent me to help you get there since I've been there, after the attack of the dark elves on Asgard."

"And why did you go there, Thor?" Loki asked him. "Asgard has no connections or business with Knowhere."

"We deposited Aether there." At that Loki and Tony opened their eyes widely in a shock. They quickly shared a knowing look, before their lips turned into smirks. It was beyond anything they could ever hope. Two stones in one place! It was like a dream come true. "We couldn't keep it in Asgard, even contained. At that moment we still were hoping for catching you, Loki."

"Ah, father feared I may steal it, as I did with the Casket of the Ancient Winters?"

"Can you blame him, brother?" Thor offered him a crooked smile and winked. No, Loki couldn't blame Odin for that. If Aether would be in Asgard, he would steal it for sure.

"Ok, I love this family reunion, but you said something about Knowhere," Tony interrupted them. "You can get us there? How fast you can do it?"

"Even now."

"You must upgrade your suit, my dearest," Loki turned to his boyfriend. Stark nodded to that for it was only reasonable.

Eventually, they decided to travel in three Midgardian days. Tony had some time to upgrade the suit with Loki's advice on how he should do it. Stark was a genius, he quickly understood how _space works, _as he puts it. He even let Loki put some enchantments all over the suit and himself to prevent Tony from unnecessary death in space.

"So, how would it feel?" Tony asked as they were lying in Tony's bed. Ever since they came back from Kamar-Taj, there wasn't a night that they haven't shared a bed. Truth to be told, Loki practically moved in with Stark, seeing as they spent all their time together anyway. "Getting to space by that pathway Thor will lead us in?"

"Unfortunately, my heart, it will feel similar as to how you've been in the wormhole," Loki explained, running his fingers softly through Tony's short hair. "You are not used to travel like that, Anthony."

Stark shuddered on the bed. Loki drew him closer to himself and secured the smaller man in his arms. Anthony still had nightmares about the wormhole, triggered again by Strange's portals. Oh, if it wasn't for Tony's plea to not kill the man, Strange would be dying in a very painful way. His mind would be plagued by the same terrors that Anthony's mind has been. In fact, Loki is still considering doing this. It is very tempting to invade Strange mind and place some terrors in there. Maybe after they will be back from Knowhere, he shall indulge himself in this? Yes, it is a pleasant thought.

He will avenge Stark's honor, like the warrior he was.

Suddenly, Loki realized something. He wanted to protect Tony, as a man protects his loved one. He realized his feelings become deeper for the mortal man in his arms. He realized he let him in his frozen heart and let Anthony warm him with his fire from the inside.

He had fallen for Anthony Stark of Midgard.

_Norns help him! _

"I can hear you thinking," Tony's voice broke his thoughts. "What's up, Elsa?"

"I will truly cut your tongue out for those names, Stark."

"You would miss my tongue in your mouth, Reindeer Games," Tony pointed out and pushed himself up on his elbows and laid on Loki's bare chest. He looked the god in the eye and smirked. "You like french kissing me. Don't deny it, baby."

"I'm not an infant, Anthony, I'm over 1500 years old."

"I told you, it's an endearment on Earth…," Tony whispered and leaned down to kiss Loki's chest above his heart. He left some butterfly kisses all over his heart and continued his path up until he reached Loki's cool lips. As always, kissing the engineer's lips felt exquisite to the Trickster. Loki would never expect a mere mortal to cause such feelings in him. Loki pushed his hands into Tony's hair and tugged them lightly, causing a moan in the younger man. It was such a delightful sound. Loki yearned to hear it more. Tony pulled away from him and looked him in the eye again, his cheeks flushed, eyes blew with lust. "I haven't done it with a guy since I was in a college… I may not be as good as you expect me to. So, be gentle with me and try not to be very disappointed, ok?"

"Are you implying…"

"I want us to have sex tonight, Loki."

The god blinked a few times, as the words of his lover sunk in his mind. When the first shock passed, Loki felt his cheeks burning under Tony's lustful gaze. This was the moment he's been waiting for, ever since the first kiss in the cave. He took a deep breath to stop the nerves that swirled in his stomach. This was big. He had lovers before that he copulated with, but this was different. With Anthony here, he had another type of relations thanks to the bond that Freya connected them with. Loki wondered, will it feel… more meaningful? Will it…

"Lokes?"

"Forgive me, love," the god focused again on his mortal lover and smiled. "As long as you are comfortable and sure you want to make love to me, I will be delighted to indulge." Tony nodded to Loki's words. "Then let me take care of you tonight, Anthony. La meg elske deg."

"What does it mean?"

"I will tell you one day, elskan minn." With that, Loki captured Tony's lips with his and turned them over, so he was hovering him. "Jeg vil ta vare på deg, min kjære."

There weren't proper words that could describe the feelings Loki felt when they finally became one. When the first pain went away, seeing as Loki decided to let Tony take him first, with the mage on top of him, he felt on cloud nine. It was amazing, incredible, breathtaking. Their hearts were racing in the same way when they kissed during making love. Their hands were marking each other's bodies, letting them feel the biggest bliss in the world. They reached their climaxes together, holding hands and screaming the name of the other.

When the morn came, Loki was the first one to open his eyes. Tony was still curled up to his side, arm thrown over the god's chest and small drool slipping out of the mortal's man right on Loki's shoulder. The Trickster wasn't even mad about it. Anthony looked so lovely in the morning light that it was breathtaking. How, in the Norns name, Loki got so lucky?

"Morning," he heard the groggy voice of the mortal. Tony looked at him with one eye open.

"Good morning, elskan minn," Loki greeted him with a kiss over the top of the engineer's head.

"You seriously have to tell me, what does it mean, Lo-lo."

"You're a genius, my love," the mage laughed. "I am certain, you will resolve this puzzle on your own. Now, get up from the bed. Thor is already up and you need to eat something before we move to Knowhere. Nothing heavy, of course. I will prepare you breakfast and you take a shower."

"Breakfast to bed? I feel so spoiled and loved."

"Breakfast in the kitchen with me and my brother." Tony pouted, but untangled himself from Loki and stood up from the bed. Before he made his way to the en-suite bathroom he leaned down as if he wanted to kiss the mage, but decided otherwise in the last second. He plastered his palm over his mouth.

"Nope. Morning breath here. Shower first, then brushing teeth, kisses, and breakfast. Yeah." With that, he made a beeline to the bathroom. A moment later, Loki heard the sound of water. Just as he was getting up from the bed, FRIDAY's mechanical voice reached his ears.

"Boss says, that if you feel up to, you can join him in his shower, Mr. Loki."

"Oh, does he now?"

"Yes." Well, how could Loki pass on this occasion? Breakfast can wait.

Two hours later, the two gods and the Iron Man were standing in London, in the middle of some empty building that had seen better days. It was some shanty and Loki would never step his foot inside in normal circumstances.

"How is this place taking us to Knowhere?" Tony decided to break the silence. "This is some kind of a dump, Thor."

"Let the look not deceive you, my friend," the Thunderer answered. "This _dump, _as you call it, channels magic from all nine realms. Surely you can feel it, brother. Mother revealed it to me when she heard of your bond and your task. With your seidr and the power of Mjolnir, we can open a portal to whichever realm we want. Nidavellir is closest to Knowhere. I have Sif and Fandral waiting on Nidavellir for us with one of the dark elves ships that we restored to use. It will take us to Knowhere and then Sif will point you, where you can find the Collector. It will be a joyful ride, brother. Like we were younglings again."

The moment Loki let his seidr flow out of his palms, Thor used Mjolnir's magic and shot in the middle of the colorful ley lines underneath their feet. The mage could feel the magic of other realms connecting with his seidr. It was just as overwhelming as feeling magic of the Yggdrasil running through him. His breath became faster when the ley lines turned golden and blinded them for a second or two. Loki heard his name being called by his lover, but he couldn't find his voice to soothe the man. His head and vision were dark, as Thor was chanting the spell that mother taught him. Suddenly Loki's vision was back and he saw that there were no more ley lines under their feet, but a small, black hole that was enlarging itself with every next moment. He quickly grabbed Tony in his arms and Thor encircled them both with his arms.

In the next moment, they fell.

At least this time, Tony didn't scream and their fall lasted shorter than before. In mere moments later, the three men landed hard on some surface.

"Graceful as always, Loki," the mage groaned, feeling Tony in his suit and Thor on himself. He tried to push them off himself but to no avail. Finally, Thor seemed to understand, as he hauled himself up and helped Tony up as well. Loki quickly joined them with Fandral's help. "You must be the famous Man of Iron, I heard about. I am Fandral the Dashing and this is Lady Sif."

"Tony," he replied. "And it's not Man of Iron, but Iron Man."

"I must go back to Asgard, brother," Thor turned to Loki. He placed his hands on the mage's shoulders and squeezed them reassuringly. "Let Sif and Fandral lead you." Thor turned into Aesir's language for a moment and lowered his voice so it was only Loki who could hear him. "_Take care of your lover, brother. I see the affection you hold for him. He is a good man, Loki. He will be good for you. I will see you soon, Loki. I love you, little brother." _

"_I love you too, you big oaf."_

"Farewell, brother and friend Tony," Thor back to the allspeak. "Good luck in your quest."

He raised Mjolnir in the air and called for Heimdall. Mere seconds later, he was taken by the rainbow bridge.

"I still don't get why couldn't we use your rainbow bridge, Lo," Tony inquired as they stepped into the ship.

"Bifrost is… how do I put it? When in Asgard, you can go wherever you want with it, but when you're somewhere else and want to use it, it will bring you to Asgard." Loki explained as Tony sat on the bench by the wall. Loki took his seat next to him. "Despite my brother's words, I am not certain they will let me with opened arms in there, let alone use the precious rebuilt Bifrost."

"We could use," Tony turned towards him and whispered to his ear, "the Tesseract."

"I rather not. The one time on Siberia was enough, my love." The Trickster intertwined their hands as they took off. "I do not want Thanos to feel the magic of it too early. He is looking for them as well. Let's not give him reasons to find us earlier than it has to be, alright?"

"You're right."

The ride didn't take long. Three or four Aesir's days, which for Tony were confusing. When Loki explained to him how the time works in each realm, he concluded that it was around two months on Earth by now. The mortal cursed himself for leaving only a short message for Pepper to keep his company in a hard grip because he's going away for some time with Luke, his new PA. Pepper, as predicted by Tony, figured out that _Luke _is Tony's new boyfriend and their relationship took another level. She wasn't far from the truth.

Eventually, they were in Knowhere. Fandral and Sif led them through the city under the guise of travelers from the Vanaheim. It was decided by Loki that they shan't reveal their true identities, for they didn't know if they could trust the famous Collector. The two Aesirs left them before the Collector's mansion and went back to Asgard, leaving the ship for them to get back to Nidavellir.

"Hello, I am Karina, welcome to the Collector's house," they were greeted by a young woman with pink skin, wearing an equally pink dress.

"Hello, I am Loptr and this is Anton. We're travelers from the Vanaheim and we'd like to present an offer to the Collector."

Tony was silently looking around the place. There were many strange creatures kept in containers. Loki even recognized some of them.

"Holy shit is this a dragon!?" Tony exclaimed, pointing at a sleeping dragon in the back of the room. "What the hell?! How?!"

"He comes from the Spartax," a new voice replied. They turned around and spotted an old man with white hair, eyeing them suspiciously. "He comes from the time before the war took the place."

"You must be the Collector," Loki acknowledged. "I am Loptr and this is Anton. We're the travelers from the Vanaheim. We're here to make you an offer."

"Oh, are you?" the man scratched his chin. "If you want to make me an offer, drop your disguise first, Prince Loki of Asgard, same as your companion from Terra."


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter XIV**

"**There and back and again"**

Tony observed how Loki's "_Luke" _glamour shimmered and disappeared, revealing Loki's Aesir form. Tony didn't have to wear any illusion since he was an unknown Midgardian for the Collector anyway. Loki's simple Aesir clothes changed into his battle armor as well. Tony wore Aesir clothes as well, courtesy of Loki and his magic, but he wore bracelets for his suit. When in need, Loki promised to pull up his suit from his magic pocket. Stark still wondered, how the hell it worked and contained all those strange things. A day before this trip, Loki showed some of his belongings he kept in there. Lots of books, some potions, Tony's suit, clothes, daggers and, of course, _the Tesseract. _Loki assured him the cube is safe from Thanos's eyes for now.

"Now, isn't it better?" the Collector spoke up. "What brings you to my home, Prince Loki of Asgard?"

"My companion and I, are looking for certain gems," the mage responded, carefully eyeing the Collector.

"I am shocked that you chose a companion from Terra, Loki of Asgard," the strange man moved his eyes to Tony. "Tell me, Terran, how does a man like you become a companion of God of chaos? A manipulation?"

"Ok, I guess that Terra means Earth, or Midgard as Loki says," the collector nodded to that. "You know, Rock of Ages and I know each other for a few years now. He stumbled upon Earth a few years back and all that jazz."

"Oh yes," the collector agreed with it. "I believe every creature heard about Loki's invasion on Earth. A failed one."

Loki only glared the white-haired man. Tony couldn't blame him, no one wanted to be reminded of their failure. Stark itched to grab his boyfriend's hand into his and squeeze it reassuringly. When did he become such a boyfriend material?

"My attempted invasion on Midgard is pointless now," Loki retorted and took a deep breath. "However, the certain gems we are looking for are connected with it."

"You are looking for the infinity stones." Both of them confirmed it with a single nod. "Do you know the story of the stones, Terran?"

"Yes, Loki told me bits of it and then Freya explained it further," at that the Collector furrowed his brows. "So yeah, I know how they came to existence and what they can do."

"Do you, now? I believe none of you know what the stones can do."

"But we know, what Thanos wants to use them for," Stark replied shortly. "And that's what we're here for. So, strange dude with white hair, give us the stones you posses. We know you have the power stone and the Aether, the reality stone, right Lo?"

"Correct, Anthony."

The Collector gave Tony a look from head to toe before he took a step closer to the mortal. Stark wondered how old he is for real. The lines on his forehead were so visible, showing his years. His eyes were sparkling with wisdom that one gets in his old age. They also showed power, but a different kind that Loki's for the instance. When he stopped in front of Stark, Tony could easily feel the power vibe off him. Iron Man, despite being a hero, wanted to take a step back, but he was held by the Collector. The man grabbed him by his wrists and placed one of his hands on Tony's forehead.

Tony felt strange burning in his head, a different kind of type than when Loki used his magic on his, or Freya. It was more painful. He wanted to scream to his lover to save him. Anthony felt as if every fiber in his body was ripping to shreds by the violent magic of the collector.

"Release him or I shall end you!" somewhere Loki's angry voice was floating. "Release him now!"

"I only want to get to know him."

Suddenly the pain ended, the burning disappeared and Tony fell on the hard floor. A moment later he felt a pair of cool, familiar arms covered in leather and metal around his frame.

"Can you hear me, elskan minn?"

"Yea…"

"You wretched thing!" Loki got up and turned to the Collector. Green sparks of his magic already dancing on his palms. His eyes darker from rage.

The Collector only dismissed him and never took his eyes off Tony.

"As one of the cosmic Entities, I possess certain talents, Terran," he started. "I can see in people's auras, you may say. I see you are connected to the stones more than anyone else. You are important in the future. You were chosen for a greater purpose. You, Tony Stark of Earth."

"You know my name?" the Collector only winked at him. "You knew from the beginning, right?"

"There are things that have been written long before." Do all of the aliens have to be so ominous in their speeches? Is this their quality? It must be, all aliens Tony met so far were talking in fricking riddles. "Alas, I cannot help you."

"Say what, now?" Tony addressed him.

"There is one thing you must know, Tony Stark of Earth, you are not the only one who wants to possess the stones."

"Yeah, Thanos, haven't met the guy yet, but hate his guts."

"Oh, silly human and his god," Tony dared to look at Loki, who was suspiciously silent for a while. Silent Loki was never good. Silent Loki meant scheming Loki, and that was never good, or so Tony heard from Thor, during their feast three days ago. "Think you can play with the power you know so little about. You know nothing about the real power that was contained in the gems. I will not give them up to you, for I have hidden them away from here. They belong to my collection."

"We have a great deal…"

"None deal, no relic or a treasure would make me exchange the gems," he stated firmly. "There is nothing you possess that would entice me, Loki of Asgard."

"Maybe there is something I can give you to your collection then?" Tony offered and looked at his lover. "Pull it out, babe."

Loki gave Tony a confused look but pulled the suit in the briefcase out of his magic pocket. He handed it to his mortal, which Tony surprisingly took without a question. Loki was one of three people that he took things from, the others Pepper and Rhodey. He pressed his thumb to the scanner on his bracelet and let the suit come to life.

"A remarkable armor," the Collector commented, as he circled the suit and took a great look at it.

It was freshly made with adjustments to travel in the space. It also had a small touch of Loki's magic as a shield to block a magic attack. You never know at what odd things you can stumble upon in the space. Loki's words, not his. And he trusted them. After all, he was more experienced with odd dudes in the space, *cough, cough* Thanos.

"It's adjusted to travel in the space and it's a full battle armor," Tony explained, observing the Collector. "It's powered by the arc reactor in the middle. The power of the suit can last for months, years even. It's made of platinum with elements of a vibranium, which is the strongest metal on the Earth, comparable to Uru. It's strong and powerful."

Loki tapped on his pedant and urged Tony to do the same with his own.

"_What in the Norns' name, Anthony?" Loki asked in his mind._

"_I'm getting us the stones, Rudolph," he replied also through their link. "Trust me, Bambi."_

"_But it's your suit…"_

"_This is more important."_

"This is a remarkable piece," the collector started again. "However, it is nothing, compared to the stones. Now be gone, before you'll be moved."

A few men materialized behind them, weapons in their hands. Tony was sure that before he could step into the suit, they would shot him. He raised his hands in surrender and looked knowingly at Loki. The god gave a quick nod to the collector and moved to the exit, where Karina was waiting for them. Tony stepped into the suit and followed his godly boyfriend out. Karina waved goodbye to him and offered him a smile dripping with fake sweetness. Tony was used to those smiles on the galas for his company. Once outside, Loki grabbed Tony by his hand and the world disappeared for a moment. A second later they found themselves by the ship left by Sif and Fandral.

"Holy hell…"

"I apologize, my love."

"What was that?"

"Skywalking," Loki quickly replied. "I used branches of Yggdrasil to walk us here faster since I knew where the ship was."

"So you went total teleportation on me here?"

"You can say so."

"That's so cool, babe!" Yeah, Tony was fascinated by his boyfriend's magic. He wanted to see and learn everything he could. "So, what now? We don't have the stones."

"We wait until the dark falls."

"And then what?"

"Go back in and steal the stones," Loki stated the obvious and gave him one of his looks.

"Didn't you hear him? He hid…"

"Anthony…" Loki interrupted him softly and took his hand in his. "Where do you keep your most treasured things? Those that you must guard by anything?"

"Close…" ok, Tony started to see his point here. "You think he has them on himself?"

"No, that would be too risky." Stark had to agree with this thinking. "But he has them in his home, hidden on plain sight. To admire, even if they are hidden for a simple eye."

"I see your point here, baby."

"When night falls, we will sneak in and steal the stones. We will possess three of six stones before we return to Midgard."

So, they waited, lying on the seats inside the ship, covered by the fur that Loki conjured from his pocket. He even explained from which creature it was, but the name was so hard to pronounce that Tony quickly has forgotten. Tony was dozing off on Loki's chest for some hours now. At least he hoped it was hours, but time flies differently in different realms. Tony truly has to get Loki to explain it all to him. It was fascinating. His boyfriend was awesome.

Somewhere between a hell of a dream of naked Loki and feeling his boyfriend's hands on him, Tony fell hard to the floor. He groaned in a pain and looked up at the mage, ready to hit him for this push, but his hand stopped midway. Loki was murmuring something and looking ahead of himself. It was strange. But the strangest thing was Loki's eyes. They were golden and sparkling, moving too fast from one to the other side.

"Loki?" he called out to his god. "Babe?"

"_Asgard brenner. Hela. Thor. móðir, faðir… Heimdall… show me… hide…"_

"Loki! Loki!" he shook him and it seemed to do the magic. Loki shook his head and looked at Tony. "Lo?"

"Asgard is burning…"

"We must help your people!" Tony ordered and called on his suit. Loki was still sitting on the seats. "Babe?"

"Father is dead… killed by Hela… our sister…Thor is gone and mother… she's dying…"

"You never mentioned you have a sister, Loki…" the god didn't respond to that. "We gotta go and help them, babe."

"The stones…"

"Fuck'em. We'll steal them some other time. Can you get us to Asgard faster, using your mambo-jumbo?"

The battle armor materialized on the god and he quickly grabbed his lover by his hands. Tony closed his eyes and let himself be surrounded by Loki's magic. Shivers went down his spine and he felt movement.

"My home…" Loki whispered and Tony dared to open his eyes.

They were standing in the middle of the, what Tony assumed was, a square. There were ruins of buildings around them and swarm of dead bodies. Tony felt like throwing up. Blood was pooling around his feet and the odor of death filled his nostrils, even though he had his helmet on. Tony dared to look at his lover.

There was pain written all over Loki's face. He often was saying that he hated living here and people were a horror to him, but he was raised here. These were his people, no matter how hard the feelings were. This was Loki's home and now it was slowly crumbling down on his eyes.

"Well, well, well, isn't this my famous youngest brother in the flesh?" a feminine voice was heard behind their backs.

They turned around and spotted a woman, similar to Loki. Black hair, green eyes, and the horns sticking out of her hair. Her attire was closer to Loki's as well. Hm… maybe it was Thor who was adopted, after all? This lady here was more looking like Loki than Thor.

"It is a shame that we weren't introduced earlier," she continued. "I am Hela, the firstborn of Odin Allfather and the rightful ruler of Asgard. Now. Kneel before your queen."

Her wicked smiled heralded bad news, Tony felt it in his bones.

**A moment later, all hell broke loose. **


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter XV**

"**Fight until you die"**

_When Loki was no more than five years old and visited with his mother the local stalls on Vanaheimr, he was often looked curiously at. His black hair was short then, just as Thor's. He wore a simple green tunic and black leggings, whereas Thor wore a red one. Thor was at the front with father, holding his hand firmly, as Odin spoke with the old king of Vanaheimr; Njord. Loki, though, was holding his mother's hand, as they were speaking with uncle Frey, the second prince of Vanaheimr. _

"_And this is my Loki," she introduced him with a smile on her face. "Say hello, darling. This is your uncle Frey."_

"_Hello," he greeted shyly the tall man. Uncle Frey had long, curly golden hair like his mother. His eyes the same beautiful shade as hers and Thor's. That made him curious. His own eyes were green and hair black as father's ravens. _

"_My daughter," they suddenly heard a deep voice behind their backs. They turned around and spotted king Njord beckoning at them. Frigga led him towards him and bowed her head to her father. Loki, knowing more about etiquette than Thor, copied her move and remained like that, until he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. "This must be the Loki I heard so much about, huh? Raise your eyes on me, grandson." _

_Loki did as ordered and everything stopped for a second. When Njord's eyes crossed with his, the older man gasped. He quickly took off his hand from Loki's shoulder and looked at Frigga then Odin, before he spoke to them in a hushed voice. Loki still had trouble with Vanir's language, but he still managed to catch a few words. _

_Trouble. Ragnarok. Hela. _

_After that Njord quickly saw them off and they rarely mentioned the situation ever again. It was a time when father and mother fought for the first and last time, as Loki recalled. It was also a time when Loki heard for the first time the name Hela._

_And now he met the person behind it. _

"Yeah, you see, sister," he heard Tony's smug voice. "I already have a king to kneel for."

Loki couldn't help but twitch his lips in a smirk. Trust Stark to be cocky even in a life and death situation. That's why Loki adored him beyond anything.

Hela only stared at him blankly. Loki took a better look at her. She was similar to him in many aspects. No wonder, the old king Njord looked oddly at him throughout his entire life in Asgard. Hmm… now it made him wonder, why did Odin place such illusion over Loki. Did he miss his daughter so much and wanted Loki to resemble her? For it was Odin, who chose Loki's appearance from the very first day he brought him to the palace.

"You will bow to me, mortal," Hela regarded Tony. "And so will you, dear brother of mine. If not, you shall share the fate of… Thor, was it? So weak and pathetic, when I broke his little hammer. In fact, Mjolnir used to belong to me, before father cast me out. A god of Thunder… Well, and what are you a god of, brother?"

Loki didn't answer her. Instead, he created a few clones of himself and Tony in front of

Hela.

"A mage!" She exclaimed and clapped her hands. "I always thought that seidr is for women, but never wanted to dwell myself into in. Tell me, brother, would you care to join me in ruling Asgard? We can bring it back to its glory and conquer the worlds like father and I used to do. I will even allow you to keep your mortal pet or he could be a plaything for my pet. Fenris!"

A moment later a huge, black wolf ran towards her. Its poison green eyes were piercing Loki and Tony. Its growl sent tremble towards the ground. Loki heard his lover's sharp intake of air. The mage quickly counted their chances. Even with his magic and Tony's suit, they had little chance of winning with her. If she managed to break Mjolnir and get rid of Thor, then they were screwed, as mortals say. They needed a good diversion plan to buy some time.

Loki let his magic slip into Tony's mind and spoke to him.

"_My people hide in the mountains, love. Go to them and get them on our ship then fly towards Midgard. I will stall her." _

"_Like hell, I'm leaving you here all alone with her. Forget it, Loki. I'm staying here with you and we will fight the bitch off. Together."_

"_Anthony, please…"_

"_No. Where you go, I go. You fight her, I fight her too. Period." _

"_We may die here…"_

"_Then we'll die together, too." _

No one ever wanted to be so close to Loki. His heart fluttered at those words. He gave a small nod to Tony.

"Tick tock, brother," Hela spoke again when almost all of Loki's clones disappear. The one remained was sent to mountains to help his people get on the ship they left by the Bifrost. "Are you joining me, or choosing death as father did?"

"You know, Odin wasn't my real father, Hela," he finally spoke to her. "But he raised me to be a king one day. You will not disgrace the throne of Asgard with your presence. And you will die for killing him and my brother."

"Well then…"

Loki had a little time to raise his protective barrier over himself and Tony, as Hela attacked them with necroswords flying out of her palms. Now Loki could definitely see she was more powerful than Thor. Tony shot her with his repulsors but to no avail. The mage projected his clones once again and started to attack her from multiple angles with everything he could. His magic, dagger, and even swords. But Hela was strong enough to hold his attack. The goddess of death manipulated the metal statue on the square into a giant ball and pushed it towards Loki's clones. Suddenly, Loki's eyes were wide open, as he realized her powers. She could manipulate metals. It was a matter of time before she used this power on Tony's suit. There was no time to stall her anymore. Loki will not let her kill his mortal. The mage quickly grabbed Stark by his metal arm and skywalked them to the Bifrost.

They fell on the rainbow bridge a few feet before the people of Asgard stood.

"Prince Loki!" Heimdall called out to him.

"My son!" Frigga joined him. Tony jumped to his feet, pulling Loki up with him. The mage turned to his mother. Her eyes were barely shining with life. Her body was bruised and her battle armor was ripped. From the look of her face, Loki could easily tell her lifeforce was weak by now. Her skin now was almost as pale as Loki's. "My sweet boy… and Anthony…"

"Hi, your highness," Tony greeted her, raising his faceplate.

"Get on the ship, people!" Tony called to the Asgardians. "Quickly!"

"You know, it's not nice to run from the battlefield, brother," they heard Hela's booming voice behind their backs. "It's a cowardly move. Didn't father teach you better?"

"Shit," Tony cursed and turned around, ready to attack.

Hela stood at the other edge of the Bifrost with Skruge and Fenris. Loki remembered Skruge from his trials for Einherjar. However, he didn't get in. The man now stood proudly next to Hela and held his sword in the air. Behind them stood an army of undead. Loki bet she raised them with the eternal flame that was kept under the vault. Loki's sister moved her eyes towards the ship on the left side of the bridge. A few people managed to get into it already, and still were walking. Hela just clicked her tongue and sent a few spears from her palms towards it. Before Tony or Loki could react the ship was hit and destroyed.

Screams of the falling people were ripping Loki's ears. But he had no time to save them. Tony on the other hand, like the hero he was, immediately dove into the water to save as many as he could. Loki was glad for this. At least he will be alive for a few more minutes. Loki still planned to save him, even if it meant that the mage will die in the process. Tony's life was more valuable than his.

Those of Aesirs who had weapons with them moved into the fight, along Loki, Heimdall, Tony, and Frigga. The battle was happening too fast for Loki's liking. He was a good warrior, but against the undead army and his sister, he felt like an amateur.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Two ships stopped by the left side of the bridge. And at that very moment, Loki was so happy to see his brother well and alive.

"Hela!" Thor shouted, as he jumped off the ship and landed in front of Loki and Tony.

"Nice haircut, Thundercat!" Tony joked to him. Soon, they were joined by a black woman in white attire. A Valkyrie! Loki recognized that outfit from the past. A creature made of rock and some strange insect-thing stood on her right side. "Hi, people. I'm Tony."

"Hi, I'm Korg and this is Miek," the rock creature said, pointing at the insect.

"Good to see you alive, brother," Loki turned to Thor. "Sporting a new look?"

"Crazy old man got me."

"Alas, a family reunion," Hela spoke again, coming closer to them. "I hate to break it. Join me brothers or die."

"You shall die first, sister."

Thor swung some ax on her, but it did nothing more but cause a laugh from her. The Thunderer ran towards her, Valkyrie hot on his heels, leaving Loki and Tony to fend off the rest of her army and the wolf. The creature decided to move towards them.

"I'll take care of this bad boy, Lo," Tony stated and flew into the air. "It's time to teach this old dog some new tricks."

However, before he had a chance to launch his attack, something fell hard on the bridge, stopping Fenris as well. When they looked closer it looked like a human, though its limbs were a bit twisted.

"Bruce?!" Tony shouted surprised. _Wait. Banner? How the hell he got here? _

The wolf sniffed the body of the mortal and deemed it dead. Fenris took his course at them again, however, he was pulled back by his tail. Loki wondered for a moment how was it possible since Tony still hung in the air, but soon, they heard a familiar roar of the Hulk. The beast took care of the other beast immediately. Loki was never happier to see that green face.

The battle began once more. Loki was swinging his daggers at every warrior that tried to attack him. Energy balls of his and his mother were flying in every direction, trying to finish as many as they could, while the rest of the Aesirs were getting onto another big ship that Thor came with. The fight was hard and Loki lost counting of how long it's been since the beginning. His eyes were moving from his lover to his mother, trying his best to protect them from the biggest attacks. He knew he was stressing his magic like that, but he couldn't let any of them die here. He kept attacking the warriors, even though he ran out of the daggers now.

He prayed for a miracle then.

And so he was granted it.

Thor flew towards the bridge. Thunders swirling around his body like a lover. He landed in the middle of the undead army and attacked them with his thunders. It was a marvelous sight.

The undead army was taken care of immediately. Now they only have to worry about Hela.

"You're missing an eye, brother," Loki pointed out, as Thor and Valkyrie walked towards them. The other Odinson glared him with his good eye.

"How are you mother?" Thor asked the goddess. She was heavily leaning over Heimdall, her breaths short, as she was clutching her side. "Heimdall, take her on the ship and make sure that all of our people are at it."

"Yes, my king," he bowed to the princes and took the queen with himself.

"What do we do now, brother?" Loki asked him, as Tony and Hulk landed next to him.

"Hela's powers are connected to Asgard," he started to explain. "The longer she is here, the more powerful she becomes. If we flee, she will hunt us down. We cannot let her get to our people, Loki."

"I agree, but what shall we do?"

"I fought Surtur earlier…" he said. "He spoke about the Ragnarok. But I was never meant to stop it, but cause it."

"What in the nine's…"

"Father once said that Asgard is not a place, it's people…" his eye was sad when he looked at the palace. "Asgard is you, me, mother, Heimdall, and our people, no matter where we are, Loki."

"Oh, I don't like where this is going, Thor," Loki whispered.

"There's Surtur's crown in the vault," the Thunderer stated. "Raise him back to life, brother."

"It's a madness, even for me, brother," Loki smirked and turned on his heel to run. However, he halted his movements. "Tony, get on the ship, now."

"I told you earlier, long legs," he replied pushing his faceplate up again. "You fight, I fight. Till the very end. Get this Surtur back to life and let's fight this bitch off once and for all. I'll be fine, honey. Don't worry."

Loki only huffed and stalked towards his mortal. He quickly claimed his lips with his in a bruising kiss.

"Stay safe, Tony."

"You too, Princess."

Loki quickly skywalked towards the vault and found the crown of the creature. He placed it on the eternal flame and whispered the spell.

"With the eternal flame, you are reborn, Surtur."

The crown moved over the flame and let it lit up the empty eyes of the creature. Loki fleed at that very moment. When he was back on the bridge, he spotted the lack of Hulk. His lover's armor was destroyed by Hela's knives until it cracked open. The mage saw red then. He launched himself at his sister and pushed her and himself off the bridge.

"No!" He heard Tony's scream, as he was falling again. A moment later, familiar touch of the metal gauntlet covered his hand and kept him from falling further. The gauntlet had a little power, but enough to raise him a few feet in the air, until his other hand was clasped firmly by two warm hands of his beloved. "You god damned idiot!"

Tony was leaning over the bridge.

"I love you, Anthony," Loki declared in the spur of the moment.

"I love you too, you idiot! Don't you dare to do it to me again, or I'll kill you myself."

Tony, with Thor's help, pulled Loki back on the bridge and the mage fell on top of his lover.

"I love you," he murmured again against Tony's lips. "I love you."

"I love you too, buttercup," Tony smiled into the kiss. "A bit dramatic situation for love declaration but I do."

"Don't be ridiculous, Tony," the mage joked too. "We would do this in any other simple moment."

"You're right, smart pants, we are the biggest drama queens all worlds know."

"I hate to break this lovefest," the Valkyrie spoke, "but look."

When they looked in the direction she was pointing and realized that Hela was standing in the bridge again.

"Bold move, brother, but none of you can defeat me."

"Oh we know," Thor answered her and pointed at the palace. "But he can."

The golden palace started to burn, as Surtur was destroying it.

"No!" Hela screamed.

"I AM ASGARD'S DOOM!" they heard a booming voice of Surtur, as it burst out of the palace.

Thor, Loki, and Tony took the action then. They all directed their powers onto the bridge to make it crack in a half. Hela fell down the sea again and they turned around to watch Asgard burn.

It stung to watch your home burn, but Loki knew it was the right choice. They couldn't defeat Hela on their own. They needed to destroy the one thing that was close to their hearts, even though Loki wasn't very liked in here. It was still his childhood home, a home that was lost now.

"Ok, people let's move…" Tony started but the words died on his tongue when Hulk emerged from the sea to attack Surtur with all his might.

"No!" Thor screamed. "Hulk! Stop it, you fool!"

"A big monster," Hulk pointed out.

"For once in your life, don't smash!"

"Fine…" the beast hung his head low and jumped away from Surtur, letting it destroy the rest of Asgard.

"Your people should be safe now," the Valkyrie said, as the ship flew forward. "What now?"

"I must find them a good place to stay, so we could rebuild Asgard."

"You can take a refugee on Earth, Point Break," Tony offered. "Avengers compound is empty anyway. Lo and I are living in the tower and Vision took off with Wanda. So it's empty. It should accommodate your people for a while."

"Thank you, friend Tony."

Before Tony could even open his mouth, the four of them were grabbed by Hulk in his strong grip. The beast jumped onto the ship with a loud thud and soon they found themselves inside. Loki quickly found his mother among all battered people.

"Mother!" he dropped to his knees by her side. She looked terrible. Her wound on the side was bleeding badly and there was some blackness around it. It was infected. The mage called on his seidr and pressed his hands towards the wound only to be stopped by her weak hands.

"No, my boy," she whispered. "Don't use your magic on me."

"But mother, you will die," he choked on his unshed tears.

"You've cheated death for me once, my sweet Loki," Frigga brought his hand towards her lips and kissed his knuckles. "It is my time. Take care of your brother, Loki, and your beloved Anthony. You are both destined for great things, my love. I've seen them all. You will…"

She let out her last breath and her beautiful eyes died.

At that very moment, both of Loki's worlds died, shattering his heart to million pieces.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter XVI**

"**Hail and farewell"**

Tony's heart was breaking. Not that he had some new disease or a heart attack. No. His heart was breaking every time he looked at his beloved god. Ever since Frigga let out her last breath two nights ago, Loki shut down. He didn't cry or scream. Hell, he didn't even punch anyone on the ship they were still at. He was just… all silent, reserved, distanced. It wasn't good.

When they put Frigga in a glass coffin made by Tony from the scraps he had found on the ship, Loki conjured some flowers, looking like lilies, and placed them around her frame. He magically changed her dress to a regal blue one with silver breastplate with some runes engraved on it. Tony could only assume they were their family emblements or it was connected to her being a witch. Her golden locks were falling on her shoulders. Her hands were interlocked and she held a necklace between her fingers. The necklace was conjured by Loki. It was a silver chain with three small pendants. A snake, a raven, and a hammer. It didn't take Tony too long to figure out the meaning behind each of it.

Each of the inhabitants of the ship paid their respects and prayed for Frigga silently. Tony did it too, even though he wasn't a religious man. Valkyrie; Brunhilde as she introduced herself; explained it to him that it wasn't a typical funeral for an Aesir. They couldn't send lights to guide her and other souls of the dead to the Valhalla. However, they couldn't hold the ceremony on the ship. However, having a great seidr user on the ship helped them send the queen to Valhalla quasi-properly.

Thor opened the roof of the ship and nodded silently to his brother. Loki conjured his seidr and let its green sparks swirl around the body of his mother. Soon, she was burning and slowly changing into a foam of stars that let out to the dark sky. It was so beautiful. Tony couldn't help but let the tears out of his eyes. He didn't know Frigga very well, but from the stories he heard from Loki, he knew she was a wonderful mother and a great queen. Stark wished he could know her a bit longer.

Later at night, when the ceremony was done, Tony escaped Thor and Hulk's clutches and went back to the small room he shared with Loki. The ship that Thor stole from some Saakar planet had a few bedrooms, but still, most Aesirs weren't using them. They rather stay in the main part of the ship, where Thor was talking about all the wonders of Midgard.

Stark found Loki sitting on the makeshift bed, staring at the golden ring in his palm. The ring was engraved with some runes as well and it belonged to Frigga. The mage slipped it off her finger before he sent her spirit away.

"She used to say I was her miracle," Loki said, his eyes set firmly at the ring. "That I was sent to her by Fate."

"She wasn't wrong," Tony replied, leaning over the entrance to the room. "You are wonderful, Lo. She knew it, I know it too."

"Despite all the lies they were feeding me with, I can't help but…"

"Miss them both?" Tony finished and walked closer to his boyfriend. "I know the feeling, babe. I wasn't very close to my old man, but when he and mom died… I was devastated. Yes, he hurt me multiple times when I was a kid, but he still was my dad. It took me years to understand it, but despite everything I loved him. Still do. And I still miss them. I would give everything to tell them once again that I love them, you know. I did a simulation of them early this year, right before you saved me, but it isn't the same."

"Yes…" Loki agreed with him. "There is some love for Odin in my heart as well…"

"Father loved you too, Loki," Thor's voice interrupted them. They looked up and spotted Thor leaning over the door-frame. The king of Asgard wore a sad smile and his blue eyes lacked its usual spark of joy. "When he was dying… he wanted to see you for the last time, brother. He said he was proud of who you become now, despite his mistakes. He was proud of you, Loki. He was proud of his youngest son."

Loki didn't react to Thor's words, not that Tony expected him to. Loki wasn't the one to talk about his feelings. The god of thunder shot the mortal a helpless look and turned on his heel. The moment they were left alone, Stark sat on the bed next to Loki and remained silent.

"My father gave this ring to my mother when he started to court her," the mage explained, his voice barely audible. "Their marriage wasn't out of love at first, it was a political one. Grandfather Borr wanted a union with Vanaheimr and King Njord had only one daughter that wasn't married already. Their marriage was decided shortly after mother was sixteen by your Midgardian standards. Father was physically around your age, Anthony. He wasn't in love with her, but their love for each other sprouted years later, especially after Thor was born and I was taken in. Father started to properly court mother a few years before Thor was conceived. So, you can say he was born out of love."

"A love child. That's why he's so happy all the time."

"Yes, one could say so." Loki snorted under his nose.

"Hey, maybe your mama didn't birth you," Tony placed his hand under Loki's chin and turned his head so he could look into his eyes. "But she loved you just as much as she loved Thor. And I think that despite all the shitty mistakes of Odin, he loved you just the same. Maybe it's a father's thing, you know, that they screw the life of their kid, but in the end they still love them."

"Perhaps."

A silence fell between them again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Tony leaned his back on the wall and a moment later, Loki placed his head on his lap. He was stiff as a stick, clutching the ring in his palm. Stark died to help him somehow. Iron Man stroked his long, black locks softly, listening to any sign of discomfort.

"It's ok to cry, Bambi," he whispered to him, when Loki's body started to tremble. Yet, Tony didn't feel any wetness on his jeans.

"A good warrior doesn't cry," Loki recited.

"A warrior may not, but a son, who lost his both parents sure does."

Hearing those words finally broke Loki down. His lithe body shook and tears started to fall down his cheeks. Tony continued to stroke his hair, letting the god cry his eyes out and scream out his rage. He needed that, Tony was certain of it. A good hour later, Loki's body finally gave up, stressed from exhaustion and pain. Stark gently pushed Loki off himself and placed a soft kiss at the top of his head. He covered him with his jacket and exited the room to find another Odinson.

Thor was sitting in the pilot's chair, Brunhilde, and Heimdall on his right and Hulk on his left. Tony walked closer to them and patted his friend on his muscled, green arm.

"Gonna let Banner out someday, big guy?"

"No Banner, just Hulk," he replied. Well, Tony will for sure miss his best friend, as he did for the past three years.

"How's my brother, Stark?" Thor addressed him, looking at him with one eye. This was so strange.

"Sleeping." Odinson nodded to that.

"How was your quest on Knowhere?" he asked.

"We were supposed to break in at night, but then… you know," Tony bit down on his lip nervously. He wasn't sure if talking about Asgard's doom so early was good for anyone. "We need to get back there, but I don't think now it's a good time. Loki is… you know your brother, Thor. He's stubborn, but I think we need some time to form a new strategy and recharge our batteries. Maybe in another month or so. We know that he keeps the stones in his fancy museum-thing, so it should be easier the next time."

"Do not underestimate cosmic entities, Anthony of Midgard," Heimdall regarded him, his golden eyes glowing with millennial knowledge. "The infinity stones were always desired by those who understood their power. Taneleer Tivan was one of the first cosmic entities, who still remember the universe at the beginning of its existence. He will not give up the stones so easily for they are the most powerful artifacts in the whole universe. One simply can empower a being, but all of them… they can be destructive. They can bring the end to everything we have known so far."

"Yes, I concluded that this is why Thanos wants them all," Tony answered and sat on the ground in a lotus position. Heimdall sat across him. Piercing golden eyes stared into his brown ones. "That guy is cuckoo bananas."

Heimdall, Thor, and Bruhnhilde raised their eyebrows in a silent question.

"Means he's batshit crazy," Tony explained further. "I get it. We have to stop him and that's why we have to steal the stones. And destroy them somehow. Still figuring this out."

"You must brace yourself, Anthony of Midgard," Heimdall started once again. "Others are looking for the stones as well. Some are closer than you think."

"Ok? That's omnim…" Tony didn't have a chance to finish.

Suddenly the beautiful vision of the galaxy was hidden by something really big. Tony jumped to his feet and stand next to Thor's throne. The big thing was getting even bigger. A yellow light beamed from the middle of the front. All of them felt thug. Some Aesir fell to the floor at this disturbance. Tony had to grip the throne tightly to not end up on his butt.

"The hell is this?!" he shouted.

"I am not sure," Brunhilde eyed the thing. "It must be some sort of a ship."

"I know this ship," Loki's voice broke through the room. All heads turned towards the younger god. Loki's face was paler than usual and his green eyes blown with fear. Tony ran towards him instinctually and grabbed his hands into his. Loki's breath was quick, his hands were trembling. Tony was opening his mouth to say something, but Loki was first. "It's Thanos. He's here."

There was only one thing in Tony's mind after hearing those words.

_**Oh, shit. **_


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter XVII**

"**It's a mad, mad world"**

Loki tried to not show how afraid he was, the second the power of Thanos's ship was pulling their smaller ship. As soon as the power consumed their ship, Loki felt his seidr trying to fight it off. However, he was still weakened from the fight with Hela and the emotional breakdown he had a few hours ago.

"We have to…" Thor looked hopefully at him.

"I'm not able to walk all of those people through the Yggdrasil, brother," he replied. "I'm not that powerful."

"Maybe we can use the..." Tony leaned closer to him and raised his faceplate to whisper. "_Tesseract." _

"I still won't be able to save all of them," Loki whispered back with sad eyes. "I am sorry."

Loki wasn't lying, despite the popular belief. The power of Yggdrasil wasn't one to be used without proper schooling. The mage studied it and channeled it from time to time, but only for a small purpose. Never when it came to using it for so many creatures. Loki simply had no idea how to do so and if he could even succeed. No, he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk the lives of his people. He couldn't risk the lives of his brother and his beloved.

"Then we fight," Heimdall stated firmly.

They braced themselves and prepared to fight their biggest enemy. At first, Loki with Heimdall's help opened a gate, similar to the Bifrost. They sent women and children through it, landing them in Tony's tower since this was one of the places on Midgard Loki was familiar with. Despite the mage's powers and Heimdall's ability to call on the power of the dead Allfathers, they managed to send only about half of women and all children through the gate. Loki dropped to his knees next to Heimdall, heaving hardly. The use of the spell weakened his seidr more. However, there was still one more thing he had to do before everything will go down the road, as Tony loves to say.

His lover was at his side a moment later. He pulled him up with his barely fixed suit. Tony was in no state to fight now. There was so little power in his arc reactor and despite their combined geniuses, both Loki and Tony forget to pack a spare one. None of them expected to face Hela and Thanos so quickly.

Loki looked up through the front window. Thanos's ship was pulling them in. It was mere moments before the titan will come down here and slaughter them.

It was about time to pull one more trick.

The mage turned to face his lover and stroked his cheek softly. Tony was the most beautiful creature he ever met and Loki was the luckiest man alive to gain his affection; thanks to magic or not. Loki was glad that they were bonded. It was the best thing that happened to him.

"I love you, Anthony, more than anything," he said, looking into his gorgeous brown eyes.

"I love you too, Prancer," Tony replied, giving him a confused look. "But why does it sound like a goodbye? Loki, what the hell are you thinking?"

"This was never about me, but you," the mage continued. "You are the key, my love. Only you. Not me. And you will succeed, my sweetheart. You will be the hero."

"Loki…"

"Just remember that I love you truly, Anthony."

Stark opened his mouth to reply, but Loki gave him no chance. He pulled the Tesseract out of his magic pocket and whispered a spell to activate it. It was the right thing to do. Loki pushed the Tesseract to Tony's hands the second it started to glow actively.

"Think about the Stark Tower!" Loki shouted to him.

"Tower?!" this was the last he heard from Tony before the mortal disappeared in a blue glow of the Tesseract's magic.

"I love you, Anthony," the mage whispered to himself, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"Tin Man gone?" Hulk asked, looking at Loki and Thor, who joined his side.

"Yes, Hulk, Tin Man is back home for now," the mage explained mere moments, before the purple titan and his children entered the ship.

"Hello, slave," he greeted Loki with a sophisticated smile. "Long time no see, Loki."

.

Before Loki could even blink, a true hell erupted in the middle of the ship. Thanos's children started to attack the Aesirs, slaughtering them with no mercy. As much as Thor, Loki, Heimdall, and Hulk tried to protect them, they were overpowered by them. Ebony Maw was the most powerful of Thanos's children. He met him when he was captured by Thanos. The Other and Maw were the ones who tortured him and shaped him into a lunatic who invaded Midgard. They wanted Loki to be a part of the Black Order, however, Loki was granted an easy way out thanks to some mysterious, Midardian soldier.

"Hear me and rejoice," Maw started, as he walked among the dead bodies. "You have had the privilege to be saved by the Mad Titan. You may think this is suffering. No. It is salvation."

"Smile. For even in death, you have become Children of Thanos," Ebony Maw regarded those who were left alive. There weren't many and those who remained were battered. Loki, Thor, Hulk, a few noble Aesirs. Heimdall was wounded too badly but still tried to fight off as many as he could.

"I know what it's like to fail," Thanos turned around and looked at Loki. He grabbed Thor's body from the ground and lifted him up. Loki's brother was battered. The mage wanted to rip the Titan to shreds for this. "It's frightening. But whatever road you take, running or fighting, the result will be the same. Destiny arrives all the same."

The Black Order circled Loki, as Thanos was walking close to him, with Thor in his solid grip.

"And now it's here, or I should say… I am," the Titan raised his left hand with a golden gauntlet that Loki saw once. There was a purple stone in one of the knuckles. _The power stone. _Loki swallowed hard. But there was no Aether in there. Didn't the Collector give it up as well?

"You talk too much…" Thor raised his head and spat with blood at the ground.

"The Tesseract," Thanos gave him a blank stare. "Or your brother's head. Choose, slave."

Loki spared a quick glance at Thor, trying hard to not reveal his emotions.

"Kill away." The titan compelled to his words. He brought the power stone to Thor's left side of the head. The Thunderer screamed out of pain and it broke Loki's heart. "Alright, stop!"

Loki sighed loudly and pulled the Tesseract out of his magic pocket.

"Loki...no... " Thor pleaded to him, the same moment the mage offered the cube to the Mad Titan.

"The sun will shine on us again, brother. We are sons of Odin. Princes of Asgard. Brothers. I will see you."

Thanos took the Tesseract to his hand and broke the cube with his fingers. He grabbed the small blue gem between his fingers and placed it on the gauntlet. And waited. When the power of the gem didn't activate in the glove, the titan growled loudly.

"What is this trickery?!"

"You forget one thing, Thanos. I am Loki of Asgard, the god of mischief."

Perhaps, in the end, it wasn't the best of Loki's ideas. Thanos was stronger than him and he had the Black Order at his beck and call. But all Loki needed was a moment of distraction. And he knew how to do so.

"Hulk, now!" he shouted to the green beast.

Hulk ran at Thanos, throwing him off Loki immediately. The god ran towards his brother, who was bounded with shackles and a muzzle. He dropped to his knees before Thor and was ready to whisper his plan when he was caught by his throat and lifted up. Loki glanced to the side and spotted a battered Hulk, lying next to Heimdall. The Silvertongue gave a small nod to the dark-skinned gatekeeper and a moment later, Heimdall called on the Allfathers' power for the last time and opened a gate. He pushed Hulk through it with a fearful look. Loki only hoped that Heimdall was conscious enough to open the gate to Midgard, preferably somewhere close to Tony.

"You are nothing but a Trickster, Loki," Thanos leveled him with a stern look. "You can never best me. I will find the Tesseract, with or without your help. I think I already know where it is. I can smell this mortal on you, slave. You sent the stone with him, haven't you? Oh, Loki, Loki. It was a good plan, but as always, you fail. You are a failure."

"But I'm still a god."

"Well," Thanos laughed and squeezed Loki's throat some more until something broke. "Gods can die too."

Thor's muzzled scream filled the ruins of the ship and it was the last thing Loki heard. Then, there was nothing.

…

"Who are you?" a man with a goatee similar to Tony was staring down at him. He raised his hand in the air and discovered he's back in his human self. "Do you understand me?"

"I'm Bruce Banner," he replied. "Where am I?"

"New York," the other replied. "Where do you come from?"

"Thanos is coming. You need to get me to Tony Stark."

A few seconds later, Bruce was wearing some black sweatpants and a Lakers T-shirt. He and Doctor Strange were stepping through an orange portal right in the middle of Tony's penthouse.

Stark was sitting on the couch with starkpads next to him and some thick books scattered around.

"Tony?" the man in question raised his eyes at the two men and jumped off the couch.

"Where is he? Where is Loki?"

"Tony, I'm so sorry," Bruce padded closer to him and placed his arms on his shoulders. "I'm really sorry, Tony, but Loki is dead. Thanos killed him and he's coming to Earth."


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter XVIII**

"**Even death cannot stop the king"**

"_I'm sorry, but Loki is dead. Loki is dead. Loki is dead…"_

Those words were ringing in Tony's head. Distant voices were coming on from somewhere around him, but Stark tuned them out. This couldn't be possible. Loki couldn't be… couldn't be… Tony couldn't even think those words connected with Loki. No, Loki wasn't dead. He couldn't be!

"He's hypervalent!" someone shouted above him. Who was hypervalent?

"Tony you have to breathe!" Bruce was in front of him with a worry written on his face. "Tony, can you hear me? Tony?"

"He shut down," Strange was next to Bruce, pointing ahead. He moved his finger up and moved it from left to right. "His eyes are not moving. His pulse is too fast."

"Tony?!"

"You shouldn't tell him about Loki…"

"Loki?" Tony's voice was hoarse as if he was screaming lately. It was raw and scratchy. He needed some water. Tony shook his head and looked around. There was Strange and Bruce kneeling in front of him with worry written all over their faces. Why were they worried? Tony moved his brown eyes further around the living room. There was no sign of his lover. Where was he? Shouldn't he come with Bruce? "Where's Loki? Bruce?"

"Tony, Loki is de…"

"Don't!" Strange plastered his palm over Banner's mouth and gave him a pointed look.

"Loki is what?" Tony parrot his best friend, when he remembered.

_Loki is dead. Thanos killed him. Loki is dead. Loki is dead. Loki is dead._

"NO!" Tony let out a painful howl.

He felt his body tremble, as he gripped his hair strongly. Suddenly, he felt as if he was dying himself. His heart was breaking into a million pieces. His soul was slipping away. Stark felt as if something shattered inside of him, cutting him to pieces. He could feel every part of his body burn with pain.

This wasn't true. Loki wasn't dead. No. This was a cruel joke of Bruce.

"No, no, no, no," Tony muttered under his nose. "He's alive. He must be. He cannot… no…"

"I'm so sorry, Tony," Bruce put his arms around Stark's shoulders and pulled him closer. Tony saw that happening, but he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel anything. He was numb. "It's ok to cry, Tony. Let it go. I know you loved him."

And so Tony did. He let go of the emotions building inside of him. Tears started to flow like a river from his eyes. His body was shaking in a stronghold of Banner. Bruce was rocking with him back and forth, back and forth for god knows how long. Everything around Tony was blurred. Every sound was tuned out. The only thing he heard was the words of his best friend. _Loki is dead. _It was like a bad mantra, that didn't want to leave his head. Stark couldn't even hear his voice, as he was screaming out his rage.

Eventually, Tony's eyes had no more tears left. His body slumped against Banner. His voice died with his screams. There was nothing but a hollow inside of Iron Man. The colors in his world greyed out. And his heart, the real one that Loki awoke, died. There was nothing more of it or him for that matter.

"Maybe we should lay him down?" Strange proposed. Tony didn't hear an agreement from his best friend, but soon, Strange's magic was lifting him up and gently lying on the couch. "He truly loved him."

"I believe so," Bruce replied and brushed Tony's cheek full of dried tears. His eyes followed his body into shutting down. "They were ready to die for each other up in Asgard. I was shocked to discover it, even as the Hulk. But I guess… they were very alike and they match each other perfectly. Tony said that Loki wasn't to blame for all of New York's invasion. He told the Hulk the whole story. When he was talking about him, his eyes were shining so brightly and there was so much devotion in his voice. I didn't know Tony personally before New York, only from his life in public, but when I met him… indeed, he and Loki were very similar, both intelligent beyond anyone and both very brave. When they were fighting in Asgard, I could see it clearly."

"When they came to look for the Eye of the Agamotto… I was reserved. After all, Loki invaded Earth and Stark was helping him as if it never happened," Strange was saying. "But, when they disappeared from Earth for almost a year, and I studied more into the stone I'm carrying, I got a few visions of them. However, now that you're saying Loki is gone… I know they must be from other timelines, possible futures."

For a moment, there was silence between the two men.

"We must shape Stark back into the form," Strange stated firmly. "If what you say is true, and Thanos is coming, we need the Iron Man. We will need other Avengers too."

"There is only one person that can shape Tony back into himself," Bruce sighed loudly and looked up. "Hello? Is there any AI here?"

"Hello, doctor Banner," Friday greeted him. "My name is FRIDAY. We've met briefly in 2014, during Socovia events."

"Can you contact Colonel Rhodes for me? Tell him Tony needs him and also, can you contact me with Steve?" Bruce asked again. "I think we need him too and the rest of the Avengers."

"There's no more Avengers, doctor Banner," FRIDAY corrected him. "However, I will contact _the Traitor_ and his little group for you. Shall I invite them all here?"

"Yes, and have Vision come here as well," Strange ordered her. "When he wakes up, he will be in shock again. It will be good to have some more familiar faces here for him."

While Tony was sleeping numbly on the couch and two men were sitting in the adjoined kitchen, a small, brown, leather sack showed up on the coffee table, surrounded by the green mist of magic.

…

"He disappeared for over a year and now you're telling me he was with Loki? Weren't he dating this Luke guy? I distinctly remember Pepper telling me he's dating his new PA, Luke Silver… Oh… I get it… Luke is Loki… I should have thi…"

"He's waking up, guys," some male voice broke through Tony's mind.

It was so hard to open his eyes, but he eventually managed to do it. The light around him was dimmed and the air was cool. Pleasant, as Stark lately slept with a human-ish popsicle. Not that he minded.

"Did you turn blue on me, Lo?" he whispered, trying to turn on the bed, only to fall hard to the floor. A wooden floor? There was no wood on the ship that they were flying. It was odd. Where was he? And where the hell was Loki?

Suddenly, Tony spotted three pairs of feet in front of his face. They were strangely earthly. Aesirs didn't wear such things. Their boots were leather and high. Stark moved his eyes further up and saw three familiar faces. Banner, Strange, and Rhodey were looking down on him with concerned faces. How the hell did they come to the ship? And Bruce turned back into a human? When did it happen? The last time he remember…

_Loki pushing the Tesseract into his hands and confessing his love. Then Tony was falling, like in a wormhole only to wake up in his bedroom in the Stark Tower with no lover and a blue cube in his hands. _

"_You son of a bitch!" Tony shouted in the space, gripping the cube. He started to look and move it in his hands to activate it somehow, so he could go back there and help them out with Thanos. But to no avail. The Tesseract was shining, but Stark was no mage. He didn't know how to use the item. _

_How could Loki do this to him?! They were a team! They were supposed to fight together! They were supposed to kill Thanos off, together. They were supposed to save the entire galaxy. They were meant to do this together. They were meant to be together… How could Loki send him off? How could he let go of Tony? _

_No. Stark will find a way to get back to space. He will get back on that ship and fight along with Loki. They will do this together. Tony will figure it out. Time was on his side now. It went faster on Earth, so Tony won't miss a lot in there. He just needs to read some books that Loki left behind. He could do it. He will do it. He will get back to Loki. _

_Tony was engrossed with books for hours until Strange stepped out of his fancy, orange portal with Bruce hot on his heels. And then Banner said those words._

_Loki is dead. Thanos killed him. Loki is dead. _

Tony thought that he felt rage when he saw how Barnes killed his parents. But it wasn't as near as strong as what he was feeling now. He was seething with rage, as he jumped to his feet. Without much thinking, Stark called on his new nano-suit that he ordered FRIDAY to complete the moment he realized he's back on Earth and have to get back into space. He pushed the faceplate down and looked at doctor Strange.

"Open me a portal to space, Strange," he grunted towards the magician. "I have to get back there."

"And do what?" Rhodey asked him.

"I will rip Thanos's heart out."

"Tone...I know you're hurting, but we have to…"

"Um, gentlemen?" Strange addressed them, looking behind Tony. "Stark, does your table usually lights up like that?"

All eyes in the room turned to the glass table and realized Strange was right. The table was lighting up in a green mist. There was something on it and that thing was emitting the light. Tony knew this light. This shade of green was too familiar to him. He raised his faceplate and stepped out of his suit. Before anyone could stop him, Tony made a beeline to the table and grabbed the small, leather sack. The green mist circled Tony's palm and brushed it gently as if they were lovers for years. Stark couldn't help but smile. Whatever it was, it belonged to Loki.

"Tony!" the three of them shouted behind his back and soon they joined him, looking down at the sack in his palm. Golden letters showed up on the front of the sack. "What does it say?"

"Elskan minn," Tony read out.

"And what does it mean?" Rhodes asked.

"It's something Loki used to call me…" Stark pulled the golden thread that was closing the sack and waited. More of this green mist seeped out of the sack and twirled around Tony's feet like a snake. Wait. It was a snake. When the mist died down, the reptile with poison green eyes swirled up around Tony's right leg.

"Oh shit, what the hell?!" Bruce looked down at the reptile that was moving up Tony's body.

The man in question was stiff, waiting for the end. Eventually, the snake raised his head and faced Iron Man. It hissed at him and pressed his snout to Tony's lips. A moment later, the snake puffed off in a green mist and a cool pair of familiar lips was pressing into Tony's.

After the internal shock, Tony let himself loose in the kiss. Only to open his eyes widely and push Loki off himself. The mage gave him a surprised look.

"You son of a bitch!" Tony regretted that he stepped out of his suit. He should shoot Loki off with his repulsor. The mage deserved that for pulling such a stunt! However, he could still use his fists. It was so tempting.

"My love…" the mage started, but Stark quickly cut him off.

"I thought you're dead! Bruce said Thanos killed you! You're a dick, Loki! I'll kill you for this!"

"Oh, my love," the mage came closer to him and put his palm over Tony's wet cheek. Tears were streaming down his face again when he finally realized that Loki is with him again. He was so happy but hurt as well. Loki kissed his lips sweetly and whispered to his ear. "Nothing can keep me away from you for too long, elskan minn. Not even death herself."

"You're a jerk," Tony whispered into a kiss. When he threw his arms around his boyfriend, the mage knew he was forgiven. Stark couldn't stay mad at him for too long anyway. He loved him too much. "I love you."

"I love you as well, my sweetheart," Loki pulled away from Tony and turned them back to the other men in the room. "Hello. Doctor Banner, it is nice to see your human form." Loki regarded the scientist. "Strange." A curt nod into the direction of the magician. "I hope you studied your Midardian magic well in my absence."

"I have."

"Very well," Loki turned his head towards Rhodey. "You must be the brother of Anthony. James, correct?" Rhodes gave him a small nod. "Well, it would be a quite lovely meeting in other circumstances, gentlemen. However, we must hurry and gather the rest of the Avengers. Thanos is coming. He destroyed the ship that we used before. It is a matter of time before he will find a mage that will open him a gate to Midgard. We must get ready."

"Where are the other Aesirs?" Banner asked, touching Loki's shoulder. "Where's Thor and Valkyrie?"

"I couldn't save them all, doctor Banner," the mage admitted with sadness. "But those who were alive wear my protection over themselves. Before I disappeared, I made sure that the ship we were calling on is close enough. They will be saved. We will see them again if we survive the encounter with Thanos."

"We will," Tony squeezed his hand encouragingly. "We will do it, together. Let's face the bastard and send him straight to hell."


	20. Chapter 19

***Contains events from Avengers: Infinity War**

* * *

**Chapter XIX**

"**Here come the bad guys"**

Tony was gripping Loki's hand tightly. If the man was an Aesir, he could easily crush it with his stronghold. Whenever the mage tried to loosen up the grip, the mortal did the opposite and squeezed it even harder, as strong as he could. It seemed that he won't be letting go of Loki so easily. Loki couldn't blame him. He gave him quite a traumatic experience. Even though Anthony kissed and hugged him, the man still didn't seem to forgive him entirely. Loki needed to coddle him some more. He could do it. Perhaps not now, but later, after they defeat Thanos. Yes. Then, after they succeed, Loki will take care of his mortal lover properly. He will show him how sorry he is for faking his death.

"I still can't grasp this," Colonel Rhodes looked at the two lovers and gesture between them. "Just… how?"

"He came and saved me on Siberia after Steve and his buddy left me to die. Loki took me back home, explained the grand plan on saving the universe and… we're practically inseparable ever since," Tony explained, avoiding looking at his boyfriend. "Somewhere along we have fallen in love with each other and that's it. Oh, and we're bonded by some old cosmic being. She calls herself Freya, or Fate."

"That's…" Rhodey started and Tony quipped.

"Crazy? Tell me something I don't know."

"Ok, so this Thanos guy… who is he?"

"Remember the New York invasion that I led?" Loki turned towards his lover's brother. "It was Thanos who orchestrated it. I was nothing but a tool in his hand. He learned about the Tesseract residing on Midgard and since I was his newest _child _and a mage, he deemed me the best for the quest of retrieving the cube. He only forgot that the second I would reveal my seidr on Midgard, Heimdall will see me and send Thor after me. When I came to Midgard and found the Tesseract, I used the mind stone on Selvig and Barton. That's how I found out about the Avengers. It's hard to admit, but I needed your help then to free myself from him. I am a powerful mage, but the mind stone was keeping me on a tight leash. Thanks to doctor Banner's beast I was free. Then, of course, by some miracle, I was able to escape Midgard and my punishment with the Tesseract. I ended up on Yggdrasil and met Freya then. She told me of her plan for me and Anthony and I agreed."

"You agreed just like that?" Strange added his question.

"Of course not. She offered me a great deal." The four mortals raised their eyebrow in a question. "She offered me the salvation of my mother from the upcoming death. I saved my mother then and came back to save Anthony."

"Yes, we have such a cute love story," Stark commented and leaned on Loki's side. "Enough with the chit chat, guys. We need a plan." Loki was opening his mouth. "Not a plan that involves your fake death, Reindeer Games. You're still in deep shit for this stunt."

"How many times do I have to apologize, love?"

"Until you mean it, you dick!"

"I truly apologize, elskan minn," Loki took Tony's hands into his and brought them up to his lips. He kissed them softly and looked deeply in to Tony's chocolate eyes. "I needed to keep you safe. I am sorry I hurt you so much."

"You're so lucky I love you, you bastard." Stark crushed his lips onto Loki's in a passionate kiss, not minding their audience. The other mortals started to groan in displeasure at the sight. Anthony pulled away from the mage and placed his palm upon his cool cheek. "Don't ever do this to me again, ok? You can't die on me, Lo. You just can't."

"I promise to try my best, my heart."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, boss," Friday's voice came through the speakers. "I've contacted _the Traitor _and his group. They should be here in three hours. However, I could not locate Vision and his witch. They are off the radar, boss."

"It's ok, baby girl," Tony replied to the AI. "Check if Steve knows about their whereabouts, ok?"

"Will do, boss."

"Ok, so we need…"

Loki tuned himself out of the conversation and focused on his seidr. He felt it pulsing with a strange feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. It was nerve-wracking and itching his body all over. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly strange lines popped up behind his closed lids. Said lines were forming themselves into an unfamiliar path or strange designs. Loki didn't know what was it until they felt a tremble under their feet. The mage quickly jumped onto his feet and pulled Anthony with him. Loki dared to look at Strange, who was looking equally oddly at him.

"Did you feel it?" he asked the mortal mage.

"Yes."

"Um… guys…" Banner's voice brought up the focus of the four men in the room. The scientist was looking outside the big window that Tony renovated and was pointing at some round thing not so far away from them. "What the hell…"

"It's their second ship," Loki cut in. "I've seen it before. It belongs to Maw."

"They're here," Tony announced.

"Get into the suit, Anthony," Loki advised and called on his battle armor. "Doctor Banner, this may be a good time to release the Hulk."

"Just not in my living room," Tony added, as the suit was forming around his body. Rhodey stepped into his War Machine armor as well. Strange opened a portal for all of them and soon they stepped out before two aliens that Loki knew so well. "I'm sorry, but Earth is closed today. So pack up and get out of here."

"Do you let this chattering animal speak for you, stone keeper?" Ebony turned to Strange before his eyes moved to Loki. "Oh, slave, our master will be pleased to kill you once again. Thinking yourself clever, Asgardian? We're cleverer."

"I think you misheard me, worm," Tony addressed him again. "Get the hell out of my home."

"Your lover is feisty, Loki," Maw ignored Tony's order. "Shall we see how he is in a fight?"

Cull Obsidian marched up at Stark with his ax of doom. However, Tony was well prepared. He released long repulsors out of his back and sent rays of power right onto the dwarf. The alien flew on the wall of some building and created a hole into it.

"Wow…" Banner commented, still trying to turn into the Hulk. "Where did that come from?"

"Nanotech. Cool, right?"

Obsidian was back on his feet in no time. A portal opened from the right side of Loki and some Asian, bald man stepped out of it. He started to create the same orange rings as Strange and together, along with Loki, they started to attack Maw, while Tony and Rhodey were challenging Obsidian. Ebony Maw was one of the strongest children of Thanos. He possessed magic, but not the same kind as Loki or Strange for that matter. He was good at telekinesis and telepathy. He could also control one's mind. It was how he at first manipulated Loki before they used the stone on him.

Maw was determined to catch Stephen, so Loki did his best to protect the man. As well as he tried his best to keep Tony alive at the same time. As a skilled warrior as he was, Loki could not diverse his attention on both attacks. Too focused on Tony's safety, he missed the moment, where Ebony threw a few cars on Loki. The mage wasn't fast enough to block the attack and he was crushed under the weight of the vehicles. However, it was all that Ebony needed. Once Loki was eliminated for a moment, and Cull took the metal man out of his sight range, he could easily focus on the stone keeper.

"Your protectors cannot help you, stone keeper," Maw regarded Strange, as the metal wires blocked his hands from creating magic. He enchanted them to twirl around his whole body and pressed him to the wall. Ebony levitated to face the Earth's magician. "Give me the gem, mortal."

"Take it yourself." And so Ebony did. When he pressed his hand to the gem, hidden in the locket, his palm was burnt. "Simple spell, but so effective."

"If I can't take it now, I'll just rip it out of your corpse." Maw forced the wires around the mortal's body to tighten even more until the man lost his conscious. "Just like that."

Maw levitated the man in the direction of the ship they came with. Unfortunately, he didn't suspect that even with no range to move, the man will fly out of the wire trap.

"No!"

But Ebony was nothing if not successful in his quests. He quickly charged after the flying man and disposed him of the cursed cape that seemed to work, despite its master being unconscious. Yes, he will please his master with gaining the time stone. He hoped that Proxima and Corvus will also succeed in gaining the mind stone. He gave them precise coordination as to where to find them. They will still have to find the Tesseract, but Ebony knew it was a matter of time. Maybe he should take Loki with him? Persuade the Aesir to give up the stone. Oh… no, not Loki. He should take his mortal lover. Yes. Loki will give it up for his life. Love was making any man a weak creature. Loki was no different. Ebony linked his mind with Cull's and ordered him to bring the mortal with him, but keep him alive.

At that very moment, Maw something fast, and red passed next to him. That thing caught the mortal magician with its white straps and pulled him away from Maw. It couldn't be like that. Ebony called on the force of the ship and directed it at the magician. Soon, it was pulling him up, even though the red worm was trying his best to keep him, while he was holding a lantern for a balance. Well… Ebony cut the lantern and let it fly with the worm inside the ship. He will dispose of the worm quickly with the ship's arsenal or let it rot in the space. Maw placed the unconscious magician in the middle of the main room and directed needles on him. If he won't give up the stone on his own, he will persuade him just fine.

Loki groaned in a pain, as the cars were lifted off him. A metal man was leaning over him with familiar blue light in the middle of his chest.

"Anth...ony…"

"Loki? Can you hear me?" that voice didn't belong to his lover. In fact, Loki had no idea to whom it belonged. He opened his eyes widely and looked at the blue suit in front of him. "Loki?"

"Where's Tony?"

"I'm sorry, Loki, but Tony…" no… no… he couldn't! Tony couldn't be… "He's not dead, but he's not here."

"Where is he?"

"Peter was trying to get Strange out of that alien and unfortunately he was pulled into the ship too," Rhodey explained. "Tony flew there after them. The ship is gone."

Loki pulled out his green necklace and tapped on the tear to connect to his lover, however, the man was not responding. The mage tried to get up from the ground and use his seidr to look for Tony, but he quickly collapsed back. Fighting with Maw and keeping Tony and Strange safe drained him off his seidr greatly. He needed some rest to regain his powers.

It sunk on him then. He couldn't save his beloved. He failed as his protector. He failed them all. He could only hope that Tony will somehow survive.

"I have an incoming call from Tony," Rhodey announced. He took off his helmet and gave it to Loki. The mage put it on and waited.

"Hey babe," Tony's voice ringed into his ears.

"Anthony…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Lo… but I had to save the kid… I'll try my best to save the wizard as well," Tony explained. "You have to keep Vision safe, ok? If they got Strange, Vision will be next. And keep the Tesseract safe too. You have full access to everything in the tower. Friday will give it to you. I'm sorry that we have to part like this. I love you, ok? I love you so damn much, Loki. Stay safe on Earth, sweetheart."

"You damn fool…" tears were falling down Loki's cheeks. "I will find you, Anthony. I will save you from them."

"No, I want you to stay on Earth and stay safe, Lo. I'll be fine." Something was cracking and soon the sound was broken. "I...ove...yo…"

"Anthony? Anthony?" the connection broke. "I love you too."

Loki took off the helmet and gave it back to Rhodes. He wiped the tears off his cheeks and stood up from the ground. He swayed a bit, but James quickly caught him and leaned on his armor.

"Where is he?" Banner asked.

"On the ship, he went to save some child name Peter and will try to save Strange," Loki replied. "We need to get to Vision as soon as we can. We need to protect him and the Tesseract."

"What about Tony?" Rhodey inquired.

"I'll find a way to get him back here. I give you my word for this. He will not leave me. I forbid it. I will save him," Loki stated firmly. "I will not let him leave me. I will not."


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter XX**

"**Welcome to my humble abode"**

It was bad. Like worse than when Tony was held captive in a cave. Worse, when he thought that Steve and Bucky will kill him on Siberia. Yeah. It was totally worse. At least then his opponents were humans or superhumans, but still humans. It wasn't hard to fight against them. But now? Now his opponents were aliens. Well, one alien, but helluva strong and with weird magic thing on his side. Maw's magic was different than Loki's or Strange's for that matter. He could manipulate many things into his favor. While Tony had only his suit, that was slightly damaged and he had a kid.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter spoke again, crouching in his new spider-man's suit that Tony updated for him after the _break-up with _Steve and the band of traitors. He wanted Pete to be safe as much as he could. But still, even with the suit, he wasn't able to protect him. And now, they were stuck here, in the middle of the space with a powerful alien and a magician to save.

_Fuck his life. _

"It's alright, kid," Tony took off his helmet and looked at Peter. "You have to hide, while I go and try to free our Harry Potter, ok? Hide from Maw and I'll try to figure out how to get us back on Earth. You have to hide, Pete."

"But I have an idea, Mr. Stark," the kid got up from the ground and took off his mask. "Do you know this really old movie Alien?"

"Just how old do you think I am?" the kid didn't answer that.

"So, there's this scene where…"

As he began to explain his plan to Stark and Strange's weird cape, Tony realized that it could actually work. Despite being so young, Peter Parker was a good material for a future Avenger. That is why Tony couldn't do anything else. He named Peter Parker, the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man the official member of the new Avengers team. There weren't many of them now, but they were a team. Tony, Rhodey, Loki, Peter, maybe Strange on his best days and Thor if he ever comes back. God, he hoped that whatever ship was to pick the Aesirs up, showed up just like Loki assured them.

Loki… thinking about his beloved mischief maker made his heart hurt. They just barely reunited again only to be separated once more. Stark hoped and prayed to whatever deity that was listening to him for Loki to stay on Earth and be safe. Loki needed to be safe. He needed to be alive. Despite what the god may think, Tony believed it was Loki who was the key to save the universe from Thanos. However, now Stark had a zero idea how they should do it. Thanos had at least two stones maybe even three, if he had managed to find the soul stone. As far as he was concerned there was a huge possibility for that. Now he had a chance to get another stone, the time stone.

Tony, the cape, and Peter were looking down at Maw and Strange. The mortal wizard was levitating in the air with bunch of small needles pointed at his face. A light was emitting from it and seemed to burn his skin.

"Ok," Peter started. "You know what to do?"

The cape moved its collar in a nodding movement. Tony nodded as well. Parker shoot off his webs and charged at Maw, distracting him briefly. However, it was all that Tony needed. He and the cape flew towards Strange.

"Oh, did you honestly think you can outsmart me, mortal?" Maw pushed Peter on the nearby wall, cutting off his webs. "You are a child, and you," he turned to Tony. "Trying to save your friend?"

"He's not my friend," Stark replied. "Co-worker and a pain in the ass, if you want to know."

"Charming, mortal working with a child and a wizard," Maw continued, holding Peter and Strange in the air with his telekinesis power. Yeah, a bit from the X-Men thing, but who was Tony to judge aliens?

"Well, maybe I am working with a child, but this child is actually smarter than you, worm," Maw regarded him with a confused look, before Tony shot a strong beam out of his gauntlet. He didn't hit Maw and the alien laughed at him.

"Pathetic, just like Loki. You cannot even hit me."

"I wasn't aiming for you."

Tony smirked at him, even though Maw couldn't see it. It only lasted a second or two, but the door burst out, creating a hole into the ship, close to Maw. The alien wasn't expecting it and quickly flew out to the space. And so was Strange. Thankfully, Peter caught him with his web, holding as strong as he could, while Stark was closing the hole with his nanobots. Once closed, Tony observed how the atmosphere in the space burnt Maw alive.

Well, it's not like Tony liked him.

"You have my thanks, Stark," Strange opened his mouth, when the needles fell off completely from him and Peter released him from his web. "And you, child."

"Peter Parker," he introduced himself.

"I'm doctor Strange."

"Ohh, we go with our pseudo? Then I'm Spider Man," Peter raised his hand in the air for Strange to high-five him. Tony was close to face-palm himself. "So, Mr. Stark says you are a wizard. Kind of like Harry Potter?"

"How do we get back to Earth?" Strange ignored Peter and turned to Stark. Tony took off his helmet once more and looked at the console before him. He could clearly see it was on autopilot and there were some coordinates flashing on the screen. "Stark?"

"Look, this is some alien technology, I need time to figure it out."

"You've been with Loki for so long, maybe you know where this ship is going?"

"Loki told me the story about Thanos," he said. "He was born on the Titan, a planet. He comes from the race of Titans. From the books that Loki possess we read that Titan used to be a beautiful planet, full of nature. It was almost idyllic, an Eden among the planets, you know."

"Until Thanos?"

"Until he realized that there's too much people on his planet and others. This is his plan, to wipe at least a half of the universe off," Tony explained. "This is why he needs the infinity stones. He at least possess two, I assume that he figured Tivan had two stones. If he raided his place, I'm sure he got the power and reality stones. Maybe he even got his hands on the soul stone already. We couldn't figure out where it is, but he's been looking for them for so long… maybe he has it. The space and mind stones are back on Earth and you have the time stone with yourself, Strange."

"You really know about those stuff, Mr. Stark, like a lot. Was this some part of the Avengers training? Will I have to learn those too?" Peter inquired, looking at Iron Man.

"I'm dating a god, an alien and he knows a thing or two."

"You think we're going to the Titan?" Strange ignored their exchange of words and decided they need to stick to one topic.

"It's the only way," Tony replied. "When Loki was held captive by Thanos, it was on the Titan. Despite it losing its original beauty, Thanos still chose it as his residence. Maw was supposed to bring the Tesseract, the time and maybe even the mind stone to him. I bet my ass that we're going to the Titan now."

The discussion was left with that. Tony had no idea how long their journey will take. Strange decided to meditate on the ship, when he wasn't on and off nodding in the corner. Peter was close to Tony, helping him the best he could in figuring out the engineering around the ship. It was something even more technological than the remnants of the Chitauri ships that were left in the SHIELDS's care. Tony hacked their base to learn more about it, since Fury forbade him from touching that shit. Tony never admitted to him that he had stolen a few bits from von Strucker when they raided their base in 2014. It was neatly hidden in one of his safes in the Tower, same as the Tesseract.

The road to the destination took around five earth's hours. However, Tony knew that time flies differently in each realm or even the space. For all he care, it could be days, months maybe even years. Eventually the ship stopped. Tony stepped back into his suit and led them out.

The Titan was… it was… it was something for sure. As Tony looked around, all he could see were tones of damaged area. What could be a beautiful place once upon a time, now was nothing but a large desert. The stench of death was rising from the ground, attacking his nostrils even through the helmet. The orange and red ground beneath his feet was slightly warm, according to his suit's readings. It looked like it could burn not so while ago. Perhaps Thanos decided to damage it some more, if that was even possible.

"Where's Thanos?" Someone asked, but the voice was unknown to Stark. A second later he spotted four aliens surrounding them.

There was a man with strange mask on his face, similar to a gas-mask. On his left stood a very muscular man, a Thor-look-alike with interesting markings on his naked upper body. A blue skinned woman with metal elements forged into her face. A robot? Could be. And finally someone who looked truly alien-ish. A woman with black hair and antennae. Yes, she was the most alien-ish person he met, except for Maw. The aliens were pointing their guns at Tony and his companions.

"Yeah?" Peter asked them. "We're looking for him too. Where is he?"

"We're not working with him," the Thor-like replied. "We're looking for him to take a revenge. "

"Get in the line, dude," Tony answered. "Who are you?"

"We're the guardians of the galaxy, and you?" The one with a mask took it off and revealed his face. He looked pretty human to Tony, but so were other aliens he had met. "I'm Star Lord, and these are Drax, Nebula and Mantis."

"I'm Iron Man, this is doctor Strange and Spider Man, we're the Avengers."

"Like Thor!" Mantis exclaimed.

"You know Thor?" Tony inquired.

"Yeah, we saved him and he and two of us went to Nidavelir for some weapon," Star Lord explained. Tony couldn't help but smile, so Thor was alright, and some of the Aesirs were residing in the compound already, trying to fit to a Midgardian lifestyle. "He spoke of the Avengers and his dead brother and parents."

"Well, his brother is actually alive, but it's not important now. Tell me, what did he do to you? Thanos, I mean."

"Took my girlfriend with himself, " Star Lord replied quickly. "She's his daughter, same as Nebula."

"Killed my wife and daughter, " Drax made his input. "He's a bastard that needs to be killed. And he has two infinity stones. He grabbed them on Knowhere."

"So Tivan gave the power and reality stones up…" Tony turned to Strange, who was meditating not so long ago. Peter was sitting across him and chat with Mantis. "Ok, have you seen the third stone on him? The soul stone?"

"No, there were only two stones on his gauntlet, but he was telling Gamora that his other children will bring the three stones from the Earth."

"Yeah, I wouldn't count on that," Tony informed them quickly. "The space stone is hidden by me and protected by Thor's brother. And the mind stone has a keeper too. That and Ebony Maw is dead, and I bet the big bear that came with him is dead too, knowing my boyfriend. And the wizard there holds the time stone."

"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter called out to him. Tony turned around and saw what Peter was pointing at. Strange was levitating above a rock and moving his head from left to right in too fast movements. It was odd. Tony quickly made a beeline towards him and cleared his throat.

"Are you alright, Strange? What's going on?"

"I've seen fourteen thousand versions of what will happen."

"Did we win in any of them?"

Strange gave him a sour look and pressed his lips in a tight line. He raised one finger slightly in the air. Well, that wasn't very optimistic. However, one chance was still better than none. Tony will grasp whatever he could.

It was that very moment when they heard a deep voice behind their backs.

"Welcome to my humble abode," they turned around and spotted Thanos with a satisfying grin on his ugly, purple face. "I've been waiting for all of you."

* * *

Hey, sorry for the awol, but I totally forgot I put this story here as well. I rarely come back to ff now, only to read some old stories. I update this regularly on AO3, like most of my new works as well. But I'll update this story till the end here as well, however, it may be longer than on AO3 if I forget again.

Thanks for reading.

Intoxic


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter XXI**

"**Time stands still" **

Tony was facing Thanos, his repulsors pointed at the ugly alien. He was observing him warily, waiting for his first move. However, Thanos was just standing, eyeing each of them with a stoic look. Stark focused his eyes on the gauntlet on his left hand. Three gems were shining on the golden item. Three. The bastard found the soul stone.

"Where's Gamora?" Star-Lord shouts out to him. "What did you do to her?!"

"My precious daughter helped me gain the stone I needed," he replied, moving his eyes onto Strange. "My, you've brought the time stone to me. Give it up, mortal. You know nothing about the power it possesses."

"Your friend didn't manage to take it from us, and you won't either," Peter replied to him and attacked him with his webs. A purple ray of power hit Parker, sending him miles away from Stark.

"Children, your play is useless," Thanos informed them. "Give the stone and I may consider leaving you alive."

"Yeah?" Stark opened his mouth. "I'm Iron Man and I'm not bending for you, Thanos."

"Iron Man," Thanos hummed. "I've heard about you. You've been seeing the future as well, haven't you?"

"Yeah, your little tricks plagued into my mind."

Tony shot a uni-beam at him, which Thanos dismissed with his fancy glove. Something hit Tony then. He'd have to take off the glove from him and fly off. It seemed that without the gauntlet, Thanos was pretty much harmless. A bit buff, but Tony had an experience with such creatures. He just needed to take it off. Thankfully, in that very moment, Star-Lord marched at him with his guns, Nebula and Drax hot on his heels. When their quarrel began, Tony quickly looked for Peter. The kid already back on his feet, made his way back to Stark.

"Pete, I need your help, kid," he spoke to him through the earbuds. "I'll attack him, distract him and you try to take off the gauntlet."

"I can help too," suddenly Mantis was next to him, clamping a hand over his damaged arm. "I can make him numb to anything. I can put him into sleep."

"Wow…" Peter and Tony looked at her in awe. "Can you really do it?"

"I can. I've been doing such things for Peter's father ever since he had found me," Tony raised an eyebrow in a question. "Star-Lord. His father was Ego, the Celestial. A powerful being. It should work on Thanos too. You just distract him so I can get my hands on his head."

"You got it, lady."

Ok, so they had a plan. A bit rusty, but Tony has to work with what he had here. He didn't know those people. Hell, he only knows how the kid fights, and he'd seen how Strange does his weird green and orange circles. The rest seemed to rely much on muscles and alien guns. Thanos was a bit distracted at last. That was his cue.

Tony charged at him with his repulsors, making him fall to the ground for a second. But it was all that Mantis needed. When Thanos got up and grunted slightly, the female alien jumped on his back. Before Thanos could even try to shake her off, she put her hands upon his temples and did her magic. Her antennae bent to the front and began to glow. Thanos sat on his butt with legs opened and his eyes started to become distant.

"Now," Mantis instructed them.

"Ok, guys," Tony turned to everyone. "We need to take the glove off and I fly away with it and try to destroy it. Capish? We need to work together. Just don't fucking blow it, ok? Let's do this, guys."

Maybe Tony had some leadership knack in himself after all. Guardians of the Galaxy seemed to follow his lead. All of them plus Peter were trying to take off the gauntlet. But, it wasn't as easy as it seemed to look like at the beginning. There was some weird force holding it on his hand. Peter and Drax were trying to pull it off. Parker even tried with his web, but nothing was working. They needed something more. Something stronger. Tony looked around, but there was nothing here that he could use to his advantage.

"Oh…" Mantis suddenly expressed, only to be beaten by Star-Lord.

"Where's Gamora, you bastard?!"

"My daughter was very helpful…"

"He's mourning…" Mantis explained, pressing her hands harder to Thanos's skull. "His heart is broken. He lost someone he loved dearly."

"Gamora…" Nebula whispered, but everyone heard her. "He loved my sister the most, more than he loved lady Death. If he's mourning…"

"I almost got it, Mr. Stark!" Peter screamed at them, but no one seemed to hear him.

Tony took a quick look at Star-Lord. For a brief moment, his face was blank of any emotion only to change into fury and breakdown in another moment. Tony knew that look. When he thought that Loki was dead, he wore the same expression. And he knew how that felt and what was happening in his head at that moment. There was nothing but revenge floating in his mind and firing from his eyes.

"Star-Lord…" Tony addressed him with a warning but to no avail. The man punched Thanos in the face, sending him to the ground. Mantis lost her balance on his back and fell to the ground as well. Her magic was broken this instant and the titan regained his focus.

"Fools," Thanos said in a dangerously low voice.

With the power stone connected to the gauntlet, he threw Drax and Star-Lord as far as it was possible for him. They hit some stone hard and seemed to lose their consciousness. Great, now their team was minus two idiots. Tony stopped paying attention to them and turned back to Thanos. The titan was holding Peter in the air, choking him with the purple ray of the power stone. Peter was struggling against him as hard as he could, but his beyond average powers could not compete with the power stone. So, Tony did the only thing he could.

After all, it was better him dead than the kid.

He charged all his nanobots on Thanos and fired. The titan let go of Peter. Tony quickly flew towards the alien and grabbed him by the front of his armor. He flew with him a bit away from the rest of the group. They weren't much of a help for him anyway. But Thanos wasn't having it. Once he regained a bit of stability, he punched Stark under his chin. Tony let go of him, as he was sent flying backward. Thanks to his suit, he managed to fall on his feet easily.

Thanos grinned viciously moment before he grabbed a moon of the planet with the power stone and hit Tony with it. It was a hard blow, that's for sure. He felt the damage of the suit before the readings popped up before his eyes. For a brief moment, Tony was excluded from the battle, as the moon was blocking him. With the little power he had left, he punched through the moon repeatedly, until it crumbled under his gauntlet and flew in the air.

Strange was fighting with Thanos with some weird sword. Where the hell did he get if from? Peter was attacking him with his webs again until Thanos got truly mad. The titan grabbed Parker by his neck and ripped the web-shooters from his suit. Then he threw him on the nearest stonewall.

Thanos broke Strange's sword, but the wizard charged again. He attacked him with his magic. Orange lines circled his body and hands like Peter's webs, holding him in place. Tony flew towards them and changed one of his gauntlets into a heavy claim. However, before he could use it on the alien, Thanos broke free of Strange's magic and attacked the wizard. He broke the eye of the Agamotto and took the stone out of it. He placed it in his gauntlet and waited.

"You wretched mortal!" he addressed Strange. "Do not make your trickery on me, wizard. Give me the stone."

"Never." Strange replied and made clones of himself, similar to how Loki was making them. It only pissed the alien more. He used the consolidated power of the three stones and ripped all of Strange's clones apart until the real Strange was left alone.

He pointed his gauntlet at the wizard and fired its power. Thanks to his magic, Strange opened a small portal underneath his feet and flee. He reappeared behind Thanos, ready to attack, but the titan was faster. He turned around and fired even more power on the mortal, making him twirl in the air, as he struggled against the power.

It was Stark's cue.

He charged at the titan again and grabbed Thanos's right hand into a claim. Stark surprised Thanos with such a move. He turned to face Iron Man, letting Strange go. Holding one of his hands in a tight grip, Tony started to pummel Thanos's ugly face with his other hand. It was satisfactory in a small bit. At least for what he had done to Loki in the past. Stark had no idea, how long he was punching the titan, but with every next punch, he had less and less strength to fight.

But he couldn't give up. Not now. He has to beat this bastard and get back to Loki.

Tony's moves faltered and Thanos used it to his advantage. He hit the claim with his gauntlet, breaking it into pieces. He raised his now free palm to his lips and wiped off a single drop of blood.

"All this for a single drop of blood?" He laughed for a moment before he charged at Tony again.

Out of nowhere, there was some sword in his right hand. Thanos pushed the sword through Tony's midsection, making him fall to his knees. The titan grabbed Tony by his neck and dragged him to the nearest stone. He helped him sit on it and grabbed his neck stronger.

"You have my respect, Stark. When I'll be done with my quest, I hope that those who survive will remember you, Stark."

Tony had no way to answer. Thanos retracted the sword from his stomach and now pointed it at Stark's heart. That was it. He was going to die on this godforsaken planet. Away from home. Away from Loki.

_Loki. _

How Tony wanted to see him again, just for the last time. He wanted to feel his cool lips on his. To hear Loki's whisper and the adoration when he proclaimed his love for the engineer. He yearned to look for the last time into those beautiful green, piercing eyes and see the soul of his mage. He wished to say apologize for not being strong enough. He wished to tell Loki he loves him eternally. He wished he had taken the necklace he had gotten from Loki to communicate with him.

Thankfully, his mind seemed to cooperate with Tony. It brought the image of smiling Loki behind his closed eyes.

"_I love you, Reindeer Games," he whispered in his head._

"_I love you too, elskan minn." _

"_I'm so sorry, babe. I tried… I'm sorry."_

Tony opened his eyes when he felt the tip of the sword pushing through the damaged armor of his.

"Wait!" they heard Strange's voice.

Thanos turned towards Strange and Tony did so too, ignoring the pain in his bleeding stomach. Stephen was holding out an opened palm and whispered something. A green light danced around his hand only to reveal the stone in the next moment. He let it levitate in the air and fly towards Thanos.

"No! What the hell are you doing, Strange?!" Tony yelled as loud as he could, despite the searing pain in his body. "No! Don't do this!"

"Appreciate this, Stark," Thanos spoke to him, as the stone landed in the middle of his palm. "Your friend value your life more than the stone. He cannot comprehend the power of this stone. None of you can. Maybe you will live to see the aftermath of their power."

He placed the stone into the gauntlet and let its power run through his body. When it settled, he smiled at dying Tony and his battered team.

"Thank you, for your… cooperation," Thanos tsk-ed at Tony, who tried to hit him once more with his repulsor. "I shall go to Earth now. I am certain, Loki will be delighted to see me. I will take the rest of the stones from him and then, I will tell him of your little bravery, Stark. Or maybe I should let you tell him yourself? I truly hope you will survive. You are cursed with the knowledge as well."

"You're my only curse," he spat at him and shot him with a uni-beam. Thanos only laughed and walked away. No one tried to stop him.

Tony healed himself with the last of his nanobots and moved towards Strange.

"Why did you do it?"

"It was the only way, Stark."

"Well, your way sucks, Strange…"

The wizard sat on the rock and began to meditate again. Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis, and Nebula stumbled toward Tony with Peter by their side.

"So, what now?" Mantis asked.

"Now?" Stark looked from Strange to them. "I have no idea. We have to get to Earth, somehow. Is your ship ok to fly?"

"I believe…"

"Stark…" Strange called out to him. Tony looked at him with a silent question in his eye. "Remember… just one…"

And then… Strange's body turned into ashes before his eyes. Like in a fucking horror movie. The next was Drax, Mantis, and Star-Lord.

"Mr. Stark…" Tony's eyes crossed with Peter's. He crawled towards the stumbling boy and put his arms around the boy. He pressed him hard to his chest. "Mr. Stark… I don't feel so good…"

"Don't leave me, kid…"

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Stark…"

"Peter…" Slowly, slower than the others Peter's body turned into ashes in Stark's hold. Tears were streaking Tony's cheeks when he suddenly was gripping the air. "No…"

Peter's last words were echoing in his mind, as he was crying at this failure. Left on the doomed planet with Nebula, Tony knew they will die. Sooner or later. He whispered the last apology in the air and closed his eyes.

"_I'm sorry, Lokes. I failed you." _


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter XXII**

"**Former foes can be allies too"**

Loki skywalked Rhodes and Banner back to Stark Tower. He needed to come up with a perfect plan as to how to find his beloved. Tony should not go into space without him. He's a mortal, for Norns' sake! Loki knew he was a powerful mortal, that was without a question. But against Thanos… there was hardly a person who could win. Not without proper tools. As much as Loki trusted Tony's technology and the blessings from the Norns themselves, he feared for his lover. Tony didn't have an upper hand in this battle. Loki was certain that when it comes to the final deciding, Strange will sacrifice his beloved and the child too, to keep the stone for himself.

Loki needed to figure it out quickly before it's too late.

"Don't even think about it," suddenly James was standing before him, observing him with a pointed look. "I know this face. Tony wears it too when he thinks about some stupid idea to sacrifice himself for the greater good or something. Don't think about it."

"I have to find him," Loki explained to both men. "I need to get to him."

"Ok," Banner interrupted. "And how do you want to do it, huh? Let's be honest here, Loki. You are a powerful mage, but you said yourself back on the ship, You can only skywalk to places where you have been before, otherwise, you may end up in the void. And as far as I'm concerned, we have no idea where Tony may be at this very moment. We know where he potentially may be. But what if he's not there? What if Maw's ship wasn't flying to Titan, but somewhere else? Besides, as I recall, you were kept in a cage in Titan, right? And then Thanos ordered you to open skywalk to Earth, right?"

Loki nodded in confirmation. He was shocked that Banner remembered that much from what Loki and Tony said to his green alter ego.

"Then you don't really know where exactly Titan is, do you?"

"Not precisely, doctor Banner, but I am certain I could find it."

"Yeah," Rhodey pointed out. "Let's not dangle neither yours nor Tony's life for that matter, ok? First of all, I know Tony better than he knows himself. When he spots you on Titan, he will try to protect you, which will definitely distract him. And from Bruce said earlier, I bet you'd do everything to protect Tony either. You will be the easiest target for this Thanos. You both end up dead before you could even begin."

"So, what should I do?" Loki asked them, sitting down on the couch in the lounging room.

His eyes landed on the fluffy cream carpet that was soft to touch. Loki remembered fondly how they kissed on it, slowly learning their bodies. Then he spotted something shiny near behind the leg of the small coffee table. He instantly reached for the item only to choke on his tears, when he realized what it was. The necklace he made for Tony to communicate with him. Loki didn't remember Tony taking it off, and the Trickster enchanted it so only Tony would be able to remove it. Did Anthony take it off before? Did he have it, when Loki popped out of his dimensional pocket? Loki couldn't remember well.

"Boss was frustrated with you, Mr. Odinson," Friday explained quickly. "When he couldn't contact you through the necklace, he ripped it off his neck and threw on the floor. It is why it's broken."

"I see," Loki waved his hand and let his seidr repair the necklace. Perhaps, when he's back, Tony will wear it again.

"Am I assume well, that Boss's current location and status is unknown?" the AI inquired.

"Yes," Rhodey stepped out of his armor and sat across Loki on the couch.

"I activate the Frosty protocol this instant," the three men looked at the ceiling in a question. "According to Boss's latest adjustments to his last will, everything that belongs to Anthony Edward Stark, son of Howard Anthony Stark, now belongs to Mr. Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, and the rightful king of Jotunheim. Mrs. Virginia Hogan, the current CEO of Starks Industries was notified of the change. You now may promote another CEO…"

"Wait, wait," Loki stopped her, rising a hand to his face. It was too much for him. "What are you implying, Friday?"

"Everything that Mr. Stark owns is now yours. He marked you in his will as his spouse, seeing as doctor Strange explained to him that binding souls with a magical being is practically a marriage."

"You're married?!" Banner exclaimed, looking shocked.

"Technically, we've been bonded before the time started," Loki slowly started. "What Friday says is true. A soul bond is stronger than any other known binding. So yes, in the eyes of the Norns and other cosmic beings, Anthony and I are _married _from the second we activated the bond. From the moment we both witnessed how our threads combined. So, we're married…"

"Since 2016, Mr. Odinson, or shall I address you Mr. Stark now?"

"Odinson," the Silvertongue replied. "Anthony and I still have many things to discuss regarding this."

"Ok, cool," Bruce sat down in front of them on the floor. "Aside from this, we need…"

"Incoming call from the compound, Mr. Odinson," the AI interrupted Banner.

"Who is this?"

"The _Traitors," _Loki raised his eyebrow in a silent question. "Captain Rogers, Agent Romanova, Scarlett Witch, and Vision. They're waiting in front of the gate."

"Let them in, Friday," Rhodey ordered her.

"I'm sorry, Colonel Rhodes, but I can let them in only if Mr. Odinson agrees with it," she answered swiftly. "The compound belongs to him too. The ownership of the compound was never given to the SHIELD, it still names Mr. Stark as the owner, and now Mr. Odinson in a correlation. So, the decision belongs to Mr. Odinson."

"Let them in, Friday," Loki agreed. "We shall be there in a moment."

"They are inside and will wait in the main lounge on the first floor, other floors are currently occupied by Aesirs."

Ah yes, Loki completely forgot that he and Heimdall sent many Aesir women and children to the compound before Thanos stepped onto their ship. He should see them and learn how they fare. But first, Loki needed to take something from here.

"Friday, where did Tony dispose the Tesseract?"

"In the vault," she quickly replied. "I will take you there, Mr. Odinson. Only you."

Before he got up from the couch, the elevator was waiting opened for him. The ride downstairs didn't take long. Before he knew, Loki stepped out of it in front of the entrance to the workshop. Friday ordered him to press his palm towards the scanner and after confirmation of his identity, she slid the door open.

Loki stepped into the sanctuary of his lover. He was immediately hit with the familiar scent of oil, a bit of human sweat, and a sandalwood shampoo. The scent of his beloved mortal. Loki bit down on his cheek to not cry. He needed to believe that Tony will survive the encounter with Thanos, or at least that he stays alive until Loki will figure it out, how to bring him back here.

Hmm… maybe he could use the Tesseract to bait Thanos to Midgard quicker. Maybe this way he will leave Tony and Peter unharmed? No. Loki couldn't do it. Tony would never forgive him if he endangered the lives of millions of mortals just to save him and the child. Tony would be cross with him until his death. Hel, he would probably find a way to haunt Loki with this in Tony's afterlife.

That is unless Loki will find a way to prolong the mortal's life. The bond between them was a start. Loki must look more into it, after this mission. Idunn's apples were out of the question now, but maybe Loki could find another way. He was a skilled mage after all. Yes, that was a pleasant idea for the future.

If they live to have it.

Friday light up a path to the front wall, where the portrait of the Iron Man hung. She ordered him to place his palm up to the arc reactor on the painting. Loki did so and after a moment, he saw green light moving up and down his palm, like on the scanner on the front door. Then, Friday asked him to look closely into Iron Man's eyes. The eyes on the portrait lit up in blue like usually and soon Loki heard a click. Advised by Friday he took a step back and observed.

The portrait opened itself in the middle like a door. Behind it was a door made of some metal, could be the same that Tony made his suit of. There was a panel with Midgardian numbers on it.

"The code is the date of Mr. Stark's parents' death," Friday helped him out. "Do you need help…"

"I know the date," Loki focused.

There were eight small lines. Eight marks. So a complete date. Tony looked up at the wooden calendar that Tony got in Kamar-Taj. It was just a simple wooden panel with engraved numbers. Midgardian calendar had twelve months and Loki recalled that Tony's parents died a few days before Christmas. And that was in the last month of the year. Loki started to press numbers on the keyboard. 16121991. The small screen was pulsing with red light until it changed into green. Soon Loki heard the sound of a working mechanism and before he knew the vault opened itself, revealing its contents.

There were some papers inside, the book Tony had gotten from Frigga, some black metal boxes and a wooden crest. Immediately Loki heard the soft buzzing, like a song coming from the wooden crest. He could feel the power of the cube before he even opened it. Once it was opened the blue light of the cube blinded him for a second. Loki pulled it out and closed his eyes.

Yes. The power was incredible. It touched every fiber of his body, stroking it like an old lover. It was tempting to take it and flee once again as he did so many years ago after the Avengers defeated him. But Loki couldn't. He couldn't disappoint his Anthony. Anthony trusted him with guard it and the mind stone and Loki would do his best to fulfill this task. Even though he yearned to use it to find Tony.

Loki disposed the Tesseract in his dimensional pocket and skywalked back to the lounging room. He found James and Bruce still on the couch. He monitored them to get up and grabbed their hands. A blink later they stood in the middle of the lounging room on the first floor of the former Avengers' compound.

Rogers, Romanova, Scarlet Witch and Vision were standing by the window. Vision leaning more or less on Rogers' shoulder. He was wounded. A quick scan of Loki's seidr told him that he was attacked by the Black Order's weapon.

"Loki?!" Rogers addressed him. "We were supposed to meet…"

"With the owner of the compound," Friday helped him up. "Mr. Odinson is the owner of every property under Tony Stark's name. Prince Loki is Mr. Stark's spouse."

They were only blinking stupidly in their direction.

"Things aside, we've met here to form a plan," Loki moved towards Vision. "I'm Loki of Asgard, a powerful mage. I understand you are the Vision. My brother let you keep the mind stone, but I will need it back now."

"I will be happy to give it to you if you have an idea of how to take it out."

"You are partly humanoid, correct?"

"I was made with a material that can replace human tissue and skin, so if you think I am partly humanoid, then yes," Vision coughed loudly and the redhead was quickly by his side. Loki moved his eyes on her. She must be the witch that mess with Anthony's head. She wasn't Freya though. Her powers were coming from the mind stone, like Vision's but they were different. "Can you remove it?"

"I can operate with humanoid parts but the technology…"

"We need someone who knows how it works," Banner interrupted, walking close to them. "I can't do it on my own. Without Tony… I don't know anyone else that can help us."

"But I do," Steve pointed out. "I know a genius that can help us. But do you have a plan, Bruce?"

"We must follow Loki's plans and decisions," Rhodey joined them as well. "He and Tony knows how to kill this guy off, or at least how to win with him. It's all magic and shit… but we have to trust them… we have to trust Loki."

"Yes, Captain Rogers," Loki regarded him and held out his hand. "As much as I don't like it, we must work together to save Midgard and other realms. We must work together to bring Tony home and to stop Thanos once and for all."

"So, what's your plan?" Steve shook Loki's hand in a so-called truce and looked him in the eye. "How are we going to do it?"

"We cannot let him get the last two stones. I have the Tesseract and once we remove the mind stone, I will channel their powers and use it against Thanos or if possible… I destroy the stones before he comes here. The stones can be destroyed only by something powerful, so I must use one stone on another. And then I will do my best to destroy the last one. You have my word for this, Captain Rogers. I will not stop before I defeat Thanos and bring Tony home."

"Good… then let's get going. We have a long road to Wakanda."

"Wakanda?" Loki asked.

"A place where we find some more allies, Loki. A place where we have a chance to win with this bastard."


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter XXIII**

**"And then came darkness "**

Due to not knowing, where the Wakanda was, Loki decided to take one of the old Avengers jet. Thankfully, Friday was capable of flying the machine herself. Loki had to admit that she was better than Thor at this.

The mage sat at the left side, with Banner and James next to him, while Roger's, Widow, the witch and Vision sat across them. Captain America was eyeing him suspiciously, asking questions about Thanos and the whole ordeal.

"I just don't understand this," he claimed. "You were our enemy. You froze me and Bucky in Siberia… and now you want to work together, help? It sounds fishy to me. "

"Believe me, Captain Rogers, if Anthony and I could win on our own, I'd take revenge on all of you for what you have done to him. We, the Aesirs, are very vengeful race. Do not be mistaken. Just because I need your help it doesn't mean I forgot you hurt Anthony. I'm centuries old, I can work with anyone, foe or a friend to gain what I need or desire. "

"Like you worked with Thanos?" The Widow quipped.

"No, Thanos simply used me. When I fell into the void, after rather dramatic events on Asgard, he found me. I was lost and hurt by those I considered my flesh and blood," he explained. "At first, he tried to manipulate my hurt heart and broken soul. When it didn't seem to work in his favor, he turned to using the mind stone on me. He locked me in a cage, contained my seidr, tortured me… only to finally, after years in darkness, break me entirely. I was an empty shell, a mold to forge by him. I admit, in my weakest days I submitted to his orders. However, the moment I left his kingdom and regained some of my conscious, I realized what I was to do. Believe me when I say this that Midgard was never my goal. But I knew that my brother holds this realm dearly in his heart. I knew, well, I was certain that he will come for me sooner or later. And he didn't fail me. But I needed to stay on Midgard until he came. When I landed in SHIELD's base and enslaved Selvig and Barton, I found out about the Avengers initiative. I realized then, that you are the only hope i have to save me and the universe. I thought that with two lost stones on Midgard, Thanos will end his quest. I was wrong. He found others to collect the stones for him. After the battle, I was meant to be taken to Asgard. I was mildly happy, because I would be safe from Thanos, even though my father would lock me in a prison as well. But when I was still on Midgard, I managed to escape with the Tesseract in my hands and i found myself being brought to the Yggdrasil by Freya. "

"Ygg… what?" The witch asked.

"The worlds' tree. A magical tree that holds nine realms," Loki replied to the young woman. "I met Freya there, or the Future, as she explained. She told me of the upcoming, dark future and the end of the world as we know it. She told me my thread is connected with someone else's and we must work together to save the future from Thanos's doings. Then I learnt it was Anthony I must work with. Somewhere along, we fell in love with each other. Maybe it was prompted by the bond we share, but the feeling is real," Loki made a pause and smiled sadly to himself. "And now, I must… we must defeat Thanos and bring Tony back home. I will get the location out of Thanos, even if it's the last thing I do. "

"But what if Tony is…"

"If you value your life, do not finish it, Miss Romanova, " the mage warned her. "Anthony is alive. I know it. He's alive."

No one dared to disagree with the god at that very moment. They decided to believe Loki 's words for now.

The rest of the fly was kept mostly in a silence. From time to time someone talked, but in a hushed tones. Mostly it was Banner with agent Romanova. Loki observed them quietly. When looked closer, you could easily spot the longing looks they were secretly exchanging, as if they were lovers once. The gentle tones, the leaning towards each other confirmed Loki's suspicion. It was her that Banner talked to Brunhilde about. She advised him to look out for her, when they reach Midgard. Who knows, maybe Banner will form a relationship with her once again.

If it would make him happy, then Loki would be happy too… Wait. Since when Loki cared for Banner?! What was wrong with him?! Loki did not care for mortals, sans his Anthony. What was happening with him? Was it Anthony's influence on him that he started to appreciate the mortals? Or maybe it was something in Banner himself? When Bruce wasn't the Hulk, he was quite a good person to talk to, same as James. They understood him the same way Tony does.

Hmmm… it seemed that those pesky mortals had grown on him.

It had to be some cruel joke of the Norns. It had to be.

"He is alright, you know," Rhodes spoke to him, leaning slightly closer. "Tony went through lots of shit in his life and he came out on top of them. First the Afghanistan, then Obadiah, the Extremis, your invasion… he survived them all. And he will survive this too. You both will."

"I truly hope so, James."

Loki blinked a few times to stop the tears that pooled into his eyes from falling. Thinking about Tony, alone in the space was breaking his heart apart. He longed to drop everything and find him. He cursed Freya for not reaching out to him in his pain. How he wished to to be whisked away to Yggdrasil by her again. It wasn't that he didn't skywalked to the Yggdrasil himself lately. He did, only to find it stagnant and lifeless. There was no sign of Freya there and she did not respond to any of his calls. She shut him out in his helplessness. The god tried everything he knows to find Tony, but it was like looking for a needle in a stack. Even in a highest concentration and channeling the powers of Yggdrasil, Loki simply couldn't locate Tony in the space. He tried to use localization realms close to Titan. He vaguely remembered it was near Xandar and Spartax. He knew for sure where the Xandar was. When he was still a young man, barely adult, he and Thor traveled there with their father to learn about the customs and see for themselves how Odin kept up the connections with other worlds. He remembered that Madam President of Xandar was speaking about realms close to Xandar. Titan was one of them. However, Loki did not know the precise location. He wasn't interested in it before.

He cursed himself for he lack of knowledge.

"We'll be landing in five," Friday announced, shaking everyone off their thoughts.

Exactly five minutes later, Friday landed their jet on the ground. Captain Rogers along with Agent Romanova exited first. Vision and the witch followed their steps, and lastly Loki, James and Banner stepped on the soft grass of Wakanda. The mage looked around. The place was full of beautiful nature. The air was so clear, not like in New York. However, Loki had no more time to marvel at the surrounding, as they were approached by a black man with a company of two women and the soldier Loki remembered from the bunker. Loki quickly recognized regal posture in the man. He must have been the leader of this Wakanda.

"King T-Challa," the widow and Rogers bowed to him in their greeting.

"Captain Rogers, Miss Romanoff," the king greeted them warmly, before he looked at the rest of the company. "Vision, Miss Maximoff, Colonel Rhodes."

"Your highness," James bowed to him and turned to gesture at Loki. "Please meet, this is Lo…"

"King T-Challa," Loki stepped towards him and bowed. The ex-Avengers stiffened in their places. Agent Romanova's hand found itself on the gun she held close, while the witch called on her powers. Loki rolled his eyes at them. What were they thinking he'd do? Kill the man where he stands? This was not a princely acting. And Loki was still a prince, regardless of lacking a home-realm. "I am Loki, Prince of Asgard and the rightful king of Jotunheim. It is my honor to meet you. My thanks for having us."

"Welcome to Wakanda, Prince Loki of Asgard," T-Challa bowed to him as well, before he gestured on a young woman in equally regal attire standing next to him. "This is my sister, Princess Shuri." The girl bowed to Loki, before T-Challa gestured at the other woman. "My General of Dora Milaje, Okoye." The woman bowed to Loki as well. "And James Barnes, a friend of Captain Rogers."

"Yes, we know each other," Loki commented and looked at the man with a metal arm. He changed. His look was calmer than years ago and his posture more relaxed, despite the metal arm attached to his body.

"And this is Bruce Banner," Rogers decided to introduce their last companion. "He's an Avenger as well, King T-Challa."

"Doctor Banner, I heard a lot about you," T-Challa regarded him.

"Good things I hope?"

"Only the best," the king smiled to the small human. "Let's move to the palace and start working on this plan I heard from Steve about."

As they were following T-Challa to the palace, Loki looked around once again. Wakanda was a true marvel. The mage sensed the flow of clean energy coming from the nature. It was singing beautifully to him. He could easily grasp some power from it. He didn't know that there are places on Midgard that channels energy except Kamar-Taj. It wasn't quite the same as there, but it still possessed some quaint of magic. He'd love to study this Midgardian magic of the place, alas there was no time for this. Maybe someday in the future king T-Challa will allow him to stay here and learn. Of course, if they will survive the upcoming encounter.

As they walked to the city itself, Loki's heart squeezed painfully. It was so similar to Asgard. The high technology, the dripping gold, the regal atmosphere… yes, it seemed like his childhood home. Oh, how he missed Asgard, even though he was mistreated there for years.

"You ok?" Banner asked him, slowing to match his step.

"This place reminded me simply of my home, Bruce," Loki assured him with a smile. "A sentiment."

"It sucks that we had to blow Asgard," he admitted. "It looked cool."

"Yes, it was marvelous," Loki agreed with him. "You would love there. We had lots of advanced researches that you'd enjoy. Anthony would enjoy our technology as well."

"Maybe your people could recreate some things on Earth, you know." That was somehow a pleasant idea. Loki could definitely aid his people in this, and include Banner and Anthony into this.

If only they survive.

Finally, they stopped in front of a large room with computers and screens like those in Anthony's workshop. Princess Shuri ordered Vision to lay on a table and began her working. Loki paid her doings only half mind, waiting for his cue to extract the stone from Vision's forehead. They planned that the moment Shuri got a hang of Vision's physique and other things that were used to create him. Bruce tried to help the girl as much as he could, but at the end, it turned out that Shuri didn't need him at all. She was a genius after all. In Asgard, she would be a goddess of the intelligence, that was certain. She would be most likely in the royal court, advising the king himself.

Loki turned to look out from the big window at the width of Wakanda, letting himself feel homesick once again. It was there, when he focused on the far lands that he spotted a strange movement. The mage looked closer and realized it was a spaceship he knew.

"They're here," he announced, pointing out on the ships that were landing on the ground.

"It is time," Rogers looked out too, before he turned to Shuri. "How fast you can do it, Princess?"

"I need some time, a half of hour at least." They all nodded to this.

"Loki, you and Wanda stay here with Shuri to finish this and we deal with them." Rogers ordered.

Rhodes and Banner turned to Loki for an approval. The god nodded to the plan and ordered Friday to sent one of Anthony's suits for Bruce. It seemed that Hulk will not appear in this battle. At least with the suit, Banner will be somehow protected, even if only slightly.

Loki stepped closer to Shuri and the witch. The redhead was giving Vision a look full of sorrow. She must have known as well that there was a huge chance for Vision to die during the process. Loki didn't trust the technology of this place, and as much as his seidr was powerful, even he couldn't make a miracle. The mind stone was too powerful, it was only thanks to the Mjolnir's magic it was able to connect with Vision's form. Loki was very much certain that the creature won't survive without it. Unless Shuri will put his essence in some other metal form, like perhaps Tony's bots. Hmmm… _robots, _yes that was it. Perhaps this was a salvation for Vision.

Shuri worked her magic on Vision, communicating the whole process to the witch and Loki. Not surprisingly, he understood everything, even though Midgardian technology was foreign to him, sans Tony's machines.

"Ok, ten more minutes and you can retract the stone, Loki," she informed him. "Wanda, you will help me with your powers to contain Vision's nerv system, ok?"

They both nodded to the plan and circled the table Vision was lying on. They focused on the creature once again and Loki called on his seidr.

It was then, when he heard the familiar humming of power. Soft to his ears like a song, a poem sung by a lover. Loki knew this song by heart. His breath caught in his throat. His heart stopped for a moment. His soul that was lost lately forged its way it's from the hidden space. Warmth filled Loki's heart and soul, when he realized the source of this.

Before anyone could form a word Loki skywalked away from the room, the occupants long forgotten. He let his heart lead him to the source of the humming.

And there it was. Or rather, there he was.

"_Anthony," _Loki whispered in a broken tone, when his eyes landed on his lover.

His mortal was kneeling by Thanos right leg. His suit damaged, some parts ripped out. There was no faceplate on the helmet, so Loki could see Tony's face. It was battered. Blood was running down from his nose and broken lips. He looked horrible, but at least he was alive.

Thanos was keeping Tony in a tight grip by his neck. The Mad Titan was challenging Loki with a cocky look. He dared Loki to try and save Tony from his grasp. The mage saw the golden glove containing four colorful jewels. Strange must be dead then. Otherwise he'd do everything to keep the stone.

Tony opened his swollen eyes and looked at Loki. The sight broke the mage's heart. His lover was mouthing something, but Loki couldn't understand that.

"I know you have the space stone, Loki," Thanos spoke to the mage. Loki calculated his chances at saving Anthony. One wrong move and Thanos will snap Tony's neck before Loki's seidr will act. He needed to think this through as much as it was possible. "I can feel it on you, slave. If you give it to me, I will let your mortal live. He is quite courageous. I admit, he is one of the best warriors I encountered ever. He has my respect. And he can still live, I can keep you alive as well and you can have your happily ever after with him. Give me the stone, Loki, or I will rip his heart out, he's real one. I will kill him and there will not be a resurrection for him. He's a human. Once Mistress Death claims him, he will stay dead. Choose wisely, Loki. You can save yourself and your lover, or I will make sure you're both dead before I get all of stones anyway. Tick tock, Loki."

"Lo…" Tony groaned in pain. "Lo...ki…"

"Elskan minn…"

Involuntarily, Loki took a step closer to him, only to halt his movements, when Thanos placed his gloved hand upon the arc reactor. The titan used the power stone to melt the front of the suit, until Tony's bare skin was revealed. Thanos pushed his hand through Tony's chest. Loki and Tony shouted at the same time. Tony from pain, Loki from a fear. Thanos squeezed his palm inside of Tony's chest and the man howled from pain. Anthony's eyes were wide opened, his mouth hung agape. Loki could hear how fast his heart was beating in Thanos's hand.

"Mortals are so fragile," the titan commented lightly. "Their lifespan is so short, but they for sure know how to live it. Even though their population is the largest in the entire universe. They keep enhancing their number and thus the population of the entire universe. No one understands my vision. The planets are dying, and their inhabitants die with them too. But when I will be done, the worlds will be better. "

"It's a crazy idea."

"You will see it too," Thanos looked down at Tony, who struggled to breathe. "He can too, if you give me what I want."

"Lo… please…"his lover plead with a hoarse voice. "Plea…"

Thanos gripped Tony's heart harder, making him gasp. The Mad Titan was retracting his hand slowly and painfully, still gripping the barely beating organ. Tony's battered face was paler than Loki's. His breath labored and eyes were dulled. He was dying in front of Loki's eyes.

"Well, it seems you do not care for your mortal, as he believed so. Such a shame. Well then… I guess you will not cry when I rip his heart out. "

Before he could finish, Loki found himself shouting to him.

"No!"

The mage dropped to his knees next to his lover, with head hung down. He opened his palm up and conjured the Tesseract.

"Break the cube," the titan ordered him.

Loki quickly did so and soon there was a blue gem in the middle of his palm. Thanos snatched it from his hand and placed it in the empty space on the gauntlet. He waited for the stone to adapt. A surge of energy went through his body, feeding him with the power of the stone. Thanos smiled at Loki with satisfaction and retracted his hand from Tony's chest. The mage quickly grabbed his mortal lover into his arms and let his seidr heal him. However nothing seemed to work. But Tony was breathing, so what was…

"Foolish, little creature," Thanos laughed behind his back. Suddenly the world around Loki began to flicker in red. Tony disappeared from his arms, leaving the mage all alone. "I've told you this before, Loki. Love is the biggest weakness of every creature. You just proved me right."

An animalistic howl escaped the mage's lips. He punched the ground frantically before he called on his seidr once more. He was ready to attack Thanos with everything he had. Alas, the titan was faster. He quickly opened a portal thanks to the Tesseract and jumped through it, leaving Loki all alone.

The second Loki realized what had happened, rage overwhelmed his mind and body. Tony wasn't here and Thanos played him. He played the trickster. For all he knew, Tony could be dead now.

Loki got up from the ground, closed his eyes and focused on the feelings running through his body. The searing pain and longing fueled his rage more. Then he felt a spark of another magic waking in his body. It was pure and lighter than his seidr. It was known to Loki as well. He grasped it with his seidr and channeled it, letting it flow through his body.

The Trickster focused on the power of the stones. He could feel them not so far from him. Without much thinking Loki moved ahead with the new magic pooling around his palms. As he walked closer he spotted many creatures he had come to know in the past. Loki dropped to one knee and placed his palm flat on the ground. He whispered enchantments in his native language and let the magic flow. Soon his once acquaintances were burning alive in the light of his and his brother's magic. But Loki didn't stop there. He let the magic flow more through his body.

The pain he felt when using it was unbearable. It was ripping his body from the inside. Loki felt as every fiber of his was ripped to shreds by the enhancing power accumulated in him. It was consuming not only his body, but soul and seidr as well. The silvertongue could feel blood running out of his eyes, nose, ears and mouth. His heart was beating erratically, breath was hard to catch. He felt he was dying. He knew he doesn't have much more time.

With the last amount of a willpower Loki conjured the image of his lost lover in his mind.

"_I'm sorry, my heart. I failed you. Forgive me, Elskan minn. I will always love you, Anthony. "_

The warmth of the power disappeared letting the cold take its rightful place. A single beat of the heart was felt before his vision turned golden.

And then came darkness.


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter XXIV**

"**Home, sweet home…"**

When Tony woke up, he was extremely cold. The light jacket he had on was providing him too little of a warmth to survive. He tried to rub his arms to provide some heat but to no avail. His hands were numb, slowly turning into popsicles. His eyes were too heavy to keep them open all the time, despite what his friend was telling him to do.

It's been so long since they were on solid ground. The ship they took, once belonging to the Guardians of the Galaxy had only little of food. Nebula, refused to eat, telling him that she will survive without food longer than him in his fragile human body. Tony couldn't argue with her. He felt truly weak.

Stark took his helmet, the one thing that wasn't too damaged in the fight with Thanos, and manually turned the microphone on.

'Hey, Lokes…' he started, placing the helmet in front of himself, so the visor in the eyes could grasp his frame. "I miss you so much, babe. I'm sorry, I fucked up our plans. I'm not sure I'll make it home to you, so just in case, know that I love you so much. Bond or not, you are the love of my life, Reindeer Games. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to save myself and keep the stone with me. Some people disappeared, so I guess, Thanos did his thing. I don't blame you, baby. He probably fucked up with you using me. He messed with your head once and he did so again. Maybe if I were with you… I guess Freya chose the wrong mortal to bond with you for this task. I'm sorry I wasn't enough. I'm sorry I failed you, Loki. Don't mourn me, sweetheart. Remember the good times, ok? I love you, Snow Queen. I just… I love you, Loki… It's cold now… I think I'll fall asleep. Nebula is here with me… she's cool… Goodbye, Loki. Goodbye, my love."

The last portion of power died in the helmet, but Tony knew that his message will be saved on his database, once the suit will be powered again. He was sure that Loki will hear his words, sooner or later.

Tony closed his eyes again, as Nebula sat on the chair next to him and grabbed his hand into his, giving a gentle squeeze. She was a good friend to him. Truly a good friend. With his eyes closed, Tony conjured the image of his beloved and let Loki's soft, beautiful voice lull him to sleep once more.

A burning light woke him sometime later, forcing his poor eyes to squint. He tried to open his mouth, but days of dehydration weakened his body even more than the fight they had. How many days it's been? Tony lost the count. Nebula quickly raised to her feet. Tony tried to do the same but found himself unable to. He only reached for her hand to grab on. Anthony was sure that if it was some threat, Nebula will fight for them both. Or at least she will try before Tony will tell her to save herself and leave him here. He was in no good shape to run or fight, whatsoever. He wouldn't hold it against her if she'd want to abandon him for good.

Suddenly, Nebula turned to him with a grin on her blue face and said words that Tony dreamt of never hearing again.

"We're saved, Tony."

Tony didn't remember much after that since he passed out once more. He woke from time to time to see Nebula next to him, still gripping his thin hand. She shook him awake sometime later, telling him that soon they'll be landing on Earth. They'll be home.

Tony's mind registered it slower, but once it did, his eyes shot open. _Earth. Home. Loki. _He will soon see his love. He will be home. There was a new surge of power in Tony's body. He woke properly and let Nebula told him a brief of what had happened when he was asleep. Apparently, some lady named Captain Marvel came to their rescue. Nebula told her Tony was from Earth that he was an Avenger, about SHIELD, even though she hardly understood the concept of it. Captain Marvel then confirmed she knows the SHIELD and that she will take them home immediately. Tony was never more grateful that he encountered aliens in his life. Aliens, with a few exceptions, were truly magnificent beings.

The closer they were to Earth, the more excited Tony was. How could he not? He was coming home to Loki! He couldn't wait to kiss his boyfriend senseless. Was that even a proper word for Loki? The mage was something more to him than a boyfriend. He was his bond, and as far as Tony knew, it was practically a marriage anyway. Tony loved him like he never did someone before. Loki was his heart and soul, even though it sounded so cliche. Fuck it. Tony was in love. He could be as much cliche as it was possible. End of story.

Finally, Captain Marvel, Carol as they learned, landed the ship on the ground in front of the old Avengers' Compound, now the Aesirs' house. Tony was shaking with anticipation as Nebula opened the entrance and grabbed his hand in hers to help him. Secured by her tight grip, Tony took a slow step out. Then another and another and some more, until he was going down the deck. His eyes took in the surrounding. The place was intact. Aesirs he came to know were standing nearby with worry written all over their faces. Before them stood the ex-Avengers; Steve and Natasha. Next to them were Rhodey, Bruce, Pepper, and Thor with a strange raccoon by his feet. As Tony looked around he didn't see the one person he longed to see. Nebula was walking him further until they stopped in front of Thor.

"Where is he?" Tony asked, looking up to the blonde god. "Where's Loki?"

"I'm sorry my friend," the Thunderer placed his big hand on Tony's shoulder. "My brother is dead. This time, for real."

An inhuman scream was ringing in his ears before everything around him turned black.

Sometime later Tony woke to hushed voices above him. He struggled to open his eyes, as more words started to form into his mind.

"He will be devastated again," Banner spoke to someone. "I suggest we wait until Tony is in better shape to share the news with him. His state is terrible. He's dehydrated and malnourished. He had a few internal bleedings. It's a miracle he's still alive. If we tell him now about Loki… I fear what he can do. He can shut down. Depression. Maybe even a case of self-harm."

"Surely you don't think that Tony…" Steve tried to say something, but Bruce cut him off.

"You haven't seen how devoted they've been to each other, Steve. The news of Loki will be hard on Tony… we must wait. I'm a doctor here, Steve."

"Alright," Captain agreed with him. "But he will be mad that we've lied to him."

"You have experience in this, don't you Steve?" Rhodes interjected and Tony felt the bed dip next to him. Soon, he felt a warm touch on his palm. "He's my brother and I'll do everything to protect him. If Bruce says we withhold this information for a while, I say we do this. We need Tony to get better. Besides, as the closest family to him I get to decide about Tony's health, and Thor, since he's Loki's brother and Loki was Tony's spouse. So, Bruce, we do as you say and we will not speak about Loki until Tony's better, ok?"

"You won't say about Loki what?" Tony broke the small silence that occurred in the room. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the people in here. Bruce was standing next to Rhodey in his white lab-coat, while James was sitting on Tony's hospital bed. Thor was standing next to Nebula in the corner of the room, while Steve and Natasha were on the opposite side of the bed. A nicely-looking brown-haired woman in Aesir's clothing was standing in front of the bed with a hand hovering over Tony's feet. "Where's Loki?"

"Tony…"

"Where is he?" he lowered his voice and glared at Rhodey. "Tell me."

"Friend Stark," Thor came closer to him and sat on the chair next to the bed. "You must know that… what Loki did… he was the real hero of the battle. He killed many of our enemies. He fought with all his might, even more, and brought many to Nilfheim gates. It will never be forgotten. Stories about his heroism will be told for centuries."

"Stop with the bullshit, Thor, and tell me… what happened to Loki."

"He was to stay with Wanda, Vision, and Princess Shuri to help retract the mind stone from Vision," Thor explained, as he placed his hand upon Tony's cool hand. He squeezed it lightly. Too lightly like for him. Since when did he learn how to wedge his strength towards mortals? "However, something happened. Suddenly Loki left them and skywalked to Thanos. From the last memories Loki showed me, I know that he's thought… Thanos used the reality stone on Loki. He showed him a scene where he kept you, kneeling by his feet and dying. Thanos pushed his hand into your chest to rip your heart out. He wanted the Tesseract from Loki. Naturally, Loki was overwhelmed by this view and fell into the trap. He gave the Tesseract to him for your freedom. Alas, it was nothing but an illusion. When Thanos ended the illusion, Loki was furious. He called on Yggdrasil's magic and let it flow through his body. I've been around magic users for my entire life, but I have never seen such power… my brother… he combined his seidr with the power of the Yggdrasil… he burnt alive most of Thanos's army… but…"

"No…" Tony whispered, tears pooling into his brown eyes. "No…"

"I am so sorry, brother Tony. The power of Yggdrasil was too much for Loki. It consumed him wholly and my brother… he burnt with it until there was no more but a single flicker of the green left of him. Then it died too and so did my brother."

"Lo…" Tony didn't give a flying fuck that people see him cry. Tears were falling down his cheeks like a fucking waterfall. A fricking Niagara. A moment later he felt arms around his bent frame. Soft skin covered with lavender scent. Pepper. Where did she come from? Hell, he didn't care. She was familiar and her touch was so tender. Something Tony needed right now. His heart was broken… no… his heart, the real one that Loki awoke with his soft kisses and unconditional love died at that very moment. He felt dead.

"Leave me alone…" he finally muttered after what it seemed forever. "Everybody out!"

"Tony…" Pepper tried to cajole him but he sent her the most murderous glare he could muster now.

"Get the fuck out of here! OUT!"

"It's best we leave him in his grief," Thor suggested and urged the rest of their friends out of Tony's room. However, the girl in Aesir's clothing stayed behind. "Eir?"

"I shall stay with Consort Stark. I will aid him with his wounds, my king."

Thor nodded to that and turned on his heel to follow the rest of the team. Eir closed the door of the room and turned to Tony with a sad smile.

"I said I want to be left alone," Tony regarded her, wiping the tears off his cheeks.

"I understand your grief, Consort Stark," she walked cautiously to him. He was a mortal, but a grieving man can be dangerous. Eir was no fair lady, she studied along with prince Loki and king Thor in her youth. She was a good warrior as well. Perhaps not as good as Lady Sif, but she knew how to survive, just like Prince Loki taught her. "Prince Loki was kind to me through our entire youth. I've studied with him the depths of magic. He was my friend."

"Great," Tony uttered. "But get out, I want to…"

"Perhaps there is a way to end your grief, Consort Stark." Tony gave her a curious look and urged to speak further. "There is a way to bring Prince Loki back to the living."

"How?"

"It won't be simple, but we can do it," she informed him, as she sat on the bed next to him. "All we need is a bit of magic that you possess, Consort Stark. We can bring Prince Loki back to you. Are you willing to do it?"

"Whatever it takes," Tony answered without hesitation.

If he could bring Loki back to him, he was willing to even sell his soul to the devil. He could… he will do everything to get Loki back into his arms. A small smile crept onto his face. Soon, he will have Loki by his side once more and he will never let him go again.


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter XXV**

**"Be still my beating heart"**

Surprisingly, Tony recovered quickly. Two days after Carol brought him and Nebula back to Earth, he was just as new, nicely healed and in a good shape. Eir, the healer from Asgard didn't use as much magic on Tony. Stark healed up himself. It was strange. Bruce immediately wanted to test Tony, but other than slight abnormalities in his blood system Tony was just fine. The changes were coming from the arc reactor, he was sure of it. Because, what else it could be?

Once recovered, Tony kidnapped Eir to his tower. He had more means in there to work on this spell she wanted to cast to bring Loki back from death.

_Loki. His lover, who sacrificed himself for the greater good. Tony missed him like crazy. He never believed that he can love someone so much as he loves Loki. The Aesir mage became his life, his heart, and his soul. He was his other, better half. He needed him in his life. Without Loki there was nothing for Tony. If a few years back someone would tell him he'd be so much dependent on someone else, hell that he'd be so much in love that he couldn't understand it, he'd laugh at the said person. Love wasn't his kind of thing. It was an emotion and Tony wasn't good in those. And yet, here he was. In love with an alien prince who was dead. _

_But not for long. _

_He and Eir will bring him back. Tony will happily sacrifice his own soul for Loki's life. _

"Are you sure, it's a good idea?" Nebula, who never left his side since they came home, asked him, as she sat on the couch in the living room. She turned out to be a great friend and someone who's similar to him. She too went through lots of shit in her life, mostly caused by dear-old-daddy. Yeah, Tony welcomed her in the club with open arms.

"I'll do everything to get him back, Blue," Nebula didn't comment further. Instead, she looked at Eir's hands, as the Aesir was mixing a concoction for Tony.

"So, what is this drink?" Nebula asked Eir. "Is it safe for Tony? He's human."

"Hey!" he poked her in her ribs. "I may be mortal and all but I'm no wimp. I can handle this."

"You must understand, Consort Stark…"

"Tony," he interrupted her. "Please, call me Tony, Eir."

"I could not. It is forbidden to address the royal family without their proper status," she quickly explained, not looking into his eyes. Raising eyes on the royalty was looked up as a huge wrong and Eir didn't want to face the wrath of King Thor. Regardless of the fact that they've studied together and played a lot in their youth. Consort Stark was the same royalty as king Thor and prince Loki. The bond he had formed with prince Loki was obvious and any mage could feel it. A magical bond between a mage and his lover was considered as a marriage.

She stirred the potion in the pot, waiting until it changes its color into yellow. For now, it was still brown. It meant a few hours more were needed to gain wanted properties.

"Fine," Tony mumbled and leaned over the table she was concocting the potion at. "So, tell me everything again."

"Prince Loki didn't die exactly in a battle," she started sitting across Tony and Nebula on the chair. Despite the previous words of Consort Stark, Eir knew she could not sit next to him. You always must face the royalty with a small distance, eyes not lingering on their faces for too long. Thus, once seated on the chair, Eir looked briefly into Tony's eyes, before her eyes focused on the glowing circle in his chest. Tony explained to her last night how he had gotten it for the second time. He inserted this in his chest before he and prince Loki started their journey into the cosmos. Even though Prince Loki was against this in the first place, Consort Stark reassured him it's nothing like before. It's not connected to his real heart. It is only a means to help with his armor. "Prince Loki died while using his seidr and the magic he channeled from the Yggdrasil. Yes, he fought off many of the enemies, but… do you anything about Valhalla?"

"It's your kind of heaven, right?"

"No. Valhalla is for warriors, for those who die during a battle, killed off by a weapon, from the hands of their opponent," she explained, as she weaved the image of Valhalla she knew from the old text in the library. "When you enter the Valhalla, there are no enemies. Everyone is a warrior, regardless of the side they've been fighting for. And the warriors there are served by Valkyries."

"Valkyries? Like Brunhilde?" Nebula asked curiously. She took a liking to the woman instantly, though not like she liked Tony. Her pose, wit, and courage reminded Nebula of her lost sister, Gamora.

"Yes, most of the Valkyries come and gather the dead warriors and escorts them to the gates of Valhalla, where the king and his two most trusted Valkyries rules the realm. Previously it was Borr, who resided as the king of Valhalla, however now that king Odin is dead, he took his rightful place among them," she was saying. "But there are two more places, where a soul gets after death. Fôlkvang and Niflheim. Those who do not die in an honorable, warrior death, ends in the Niflheim. And those, who are not chosen by Valkyries and their king, but dies in a battle, ends up in Fôlkvang, meadow of Freyja, the goddess of love, war, seidr and many more."

"Freyja?" Stark reacted immediately. "I know her! She's been talking to me and getting me to Yggdrasil."

Tony began to explain Eir how he came to knowing Freyja with as many details as he could remember. The young woman was listening closely, giving him a curious look. It was unheard of gods to speak to mortals, let alone call on them. However, Consort Stark was a remarkable mortal, perhaps it is why the goddess chose him.

"She called herself Future?" Eir inquired, to which Tony nodded. "Hmm… That is odd. I have never heard the gods choosing other names. Freyja is known by other names, but none of it is the Future. Are you certain her name is Freyja?"

"That's how she introduced herself first to Loki then to me," Eir wondered about it for a while, but no reasonable answer came to her mind. She wasn't as close to Yggdrasil's magic as Prince Loki and Queen Frigga themselves. Perhaps it was possible for Freyja to be the Future as well? "Even if she's not this Freyja, I'm sure I can charm her just as much. Are we sure that Loki is in that meadow of her?"

"Prince Loki died in a battle, but his death wasn't honorable," she replied. "You must know, Consort Stark, that according to Valkyries and their ruler, the only honorable death that lets you sit among them is by a blade. Seidr's users are seen lesser than warriors, who wields a weapon."

"That's bullshit," Tony commented sourly. "No wonder Lokes never thinks himself highly."

Eir only smiled sadly.

"Ok, tell me, what I have to do."

"You wear the mark of Prince Loki," she started, gently taking Tony's right hand into hers. She turned it to look at his wrist. Eir moved her palm over Tony's wrist to reveal the spark of Loki's magic wrapped around his veins. Tony's eyes widened in shock. "There's a bit of his magic in your body. In the eyes of the Norns, you may be a seidr wielder too, even if the amount of seidr is barely sensible. Also, your glowing circle possesses magic, this is why Yggdrasil's magic didn't end you when you stepped on it. It is similar to the magic of the space stone. You must know that the cosmic entities that were turned into the stones… their magic came from the Yggdrasil as well. It is not only the world's tree but also the life and death tree. It is the beginning and the end of everything in the cosmos. Your arc reactor, even though made by your hand, is a magical device, which is an advantage for you. Thanks to it, the stones that Thanos used on you didn't kill you."

"Damn…" Nebula whispered to herself. Tony could only agree with his friend.

"As a seidr's user, I am certain you will end up in Freyja's meadow," Eir smiled at him before she lowered her eyes again.

"Wait…" Tony said, as her words sunk into his mind. "End up… dead? You will kill me?"

"Only briefly, Consort Stark," she quickly assured him and looked up to his eyes. "This potion I'm making will let me stop your heart. Of course, we will have to have someone to kill you during a fight. However, only briefly. Five Midgardian minutes at most. Your soul will not leave your body entirely. I will be able to call your soul back in time. You only need to get into Fôlkvang and take Prince Loki's soul back. You will wear a container for his soul, Consort. Then I will call on the powers of the Yggdrasil and recreate his body. From there, we will have to wait until his life force will awake."

A pregnant silence fell into the room, as Eir finished her words. Both Tony and Nebula were thinking hard about it.

Thanos's daughter had more reserve towards this whole plan. She hardly believed in its success, despite all reassurances that Eir was poisoning Tony's mind with. Nebula didn't trust the Aesir witch. Nebula wasn't gifted with magic, let alone she surrounded herself with witches. The only ones that possessed magic in her father's home were Ebony Maw, the Other, and Loki when he was captured by Thanos… Truthfully, it was Nebula who had founded him and brought towards her father. Loki was in huge despair and Nebula saw a great asset in him. Magicians were capable of everything and they believed Loki to be the same. Prince of Asgard wasn't reluctant to their plan at first until he gained the strings of his mind back in his hands. Only when he started to stand up to Thanos and the Other, her father decided to use the mind stone on him to make him a good pet. There was a brief moment, back in time, when Nebula thought her father's actions are wrong. However, Thanos quickly restored her processors back to his liking. She was the ever good daughter and that bastard still preferred her sister, Gamora.

Despite the previous hate towards the green-skinned woman, Nebula missed her sister. She wished she could be brought back just like Loki will be. They could be true sisters then.

Tony thought strongly about Eir's plan. There was a lot of danger in it, but… despite all the alerts in his mind, his heart made the decision quickly, silencing his stupid brain once and for all.

"Ok, let's do it," he announced after a moment. Nebula regarded him with a stern look, but Tony squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You will kill me, Nebs."

"I'm no…"

"Please...only you can help me," he pleaded with her. Those stupid, sad, big brown eyes were melting her heart. What was happening with her? Since when she was emotional? "Bruce will try to stop me… he doesn't understand… I need him back. I can't live without Loki. Please, Nebula."

"If something goes wrong…"

"I will survive this," his words were certain. "I've survived lots of shit in the past. I can handle this. We can handle this."

"Fine," she finally agreed. Tony threw his arms around her in gratitude. Nebula stiffens in her place. She didn't do hugs. "If you end up dead and your family tries to blame me…"

"They won't," Stark insisted, before turning back to Eir. "When you'll be done with the potion, Eir?"

"I believe an hour or so," she replied, looking back at the potion that was now in an amber color. "We will need some weapon, preferably a sword."

"What about a dagger?" Tony offered and stood up from the couch.

For a moment he disappeared in his and Loki's bedroom. The man opened the nightstand on the left side of the bed which informally belonged to his lover. He knew that there was a set of daggers made of some Asgardian metal. Loki left it there, before they went to space, insisting that they are a courting gift for Anthony, but Tony yet has to learn how to use them properly. Tony took the daggers with himself back to the living room.

"I know those daggers," Eir commented, her eyes seizing them up. "Queen Frigga gave them to Prince Loki, when he was five, after his first successful shapeshifting. Prince Loki always used them in combat. They were enchanted to be always precise in their movements."

"I didn't know…"

"They will be good for the task," Eir quickly turned back to the topic, before Tony could dwell more onto thoughts about his dead for now lover. "Nebula you must push the blade through Consort Stark's heart before the last beat of it. After the last beat, Consort, part of your soul will leave your body briefly and you will get Prince Loki's soul back."

"And the container you mentioned?" Tony asked further.

Eir stood up from the chair and walked towards the Consort. She crouched before him and touched the green necklace on his neck.

"This is connected to Prince's seidr, it will be a perfect container for his soul."

"Ok, we will do this."

_What can go wrong, right?_

Two hours later, after Tony drank the sour, yellow potion. It tasted horrible like meat turned into a drink with lots of salt. Terrible. He wished to drink water after this, but Eir forbid it. Stark felt as his heart was slowing down, its beats were lighter when he was fakely fighting with Nebula in his living room. Finally, FRIDAY announced that his heartbeat was dropping fastly and Eir confirmed it with her checking spell. And then, she gave Nebula a sign. The blue woman pressed her lips into a tight line and pushed the blade through Tony's heart until the hilt hit his chest above the arc-reactor. Iron Man dropped his own dagger and fell to his knees. His heart was erratic for a moment, blood was pumping in his veins and some started to run down his naked torso. He tried to catch his last breath and think about Loki.

Finally, his heart gave the last beat and everything around him turned black. With the last will of his mind, he thought.

_I'm coming Loki. I'm coming for you._


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter XXVI**

"**When Love and Death embrace"**

Strangely, Tony felt warmth. He always thought that once you're dead there's nothing but coldness surrounding your body. So why the hell was so warm in here? He dared to open his eyes and was struck with a bright, white light. His eyes closed immediately, trying to keep away from the hurting light. It took him a moment, but eventually, he tried to open his eyes again. This time he forced them to remain open and blinked a few times to adjust to the brightness around him.

There was nothing around him. Only Tony in some light space. Where the hell he was? Tony tried to move his arms and legs. He saw he's moving them, but he felt nothing as if his limbs were made of air. He tried to breathe deeply but found himself unable to. He wasn't breathing, yet, his senses were very active. He was alive, but at the same time, he wasn't. It was confusing.

"Tony Stark," he heard a smooth, female voice behind himself. Before Tony had a chance to turn around a woman stood before his eyes. "And finally we meet in person."

Tony regarded her with a curious look. She wore a black robe that had a few holes in it. There was a silver chain tied around her waist that was connected with a chain around her right hand. Tony spotted that her right hand was pure bone. As his eyes were further up, he saw that her face was almost human if it weren't for the empty eye sockets and the lack of skin on her left side of a face. The right side of her face was pale, her lips covered by scarlet red gloss. White hair was falling out from under the black hood she was wearing.

"Welcome, my dear friend," she greeted him, revealing forty fangs where teeth should be.

"You're the death," he whispered as the realization hit him.

"I am Mistress Death, my dear Tony," she walked closer to him and offered her hand towards him. Stark grabbed it and let her haul him up until they were facing each other. "I came here for you."

"And where's here?"

"It's a place between all dead realms," she explained. "The edges of this place connects with Niflheim, Fôlkvang, and Valhalla, with heaven or hell, purgatory if you must. The names are various but the idea is the same. This is a place where you wait for your place in the afterlife, Tony."

"So, you're going to take me to this Fol-something, right?"

"Is this where you think you belong?"

"That's where I have to go," he replied, mentally trying to figure out how much time he had left. "Look, I'd love to chat some more but I'm here for…"

"Loki?" How did she know that? "Your mind isn't closed for me, Tony. I can hear everything in your mind here. This is my creation. I know you are here for Loki. Alas, you cannot take him. He is mine, now."

"Look, lady," Tony's tone changed to threatening. What more could she do to him? He was already dead. "Loki doesn't belong here. I have to take him back."

"I cannot let a soul come back to life just like that," Lady Death informed him in her empty voice. "No matter how much I am fond of you, Anthony Stark. You've managed to escape my arms so many times already. Now it is the end."

"Yeah, I don't think…"

"Mistress," another female voice joined their banter.

Tony looked to the side and spotted a tall, beautiful woman with long, golden hair. She looked like a true goddess, right out of ancient Greece or something. Her white dress was glowing with golden light, matching her hair. Her face was striking. Beautiful blue eyes were emitting so much warmth that Tony felt he was melting under her gaze. She moved with the grace of a swan.

"Lady Freyja," Death greeted her coolly, her red half-lips were pressed into a tight line.

"You're not the Freyja I know," Tony decided to speak to the new woman. She gave him a confused look before she eyed him from head to toe. "Are there two of you?"

"I assure you, there is no other Freyja than me, Anthony of Earth."

"You know me?"

"I know everyone who enters here," well Tony had to give it to her. "I came to collect your soul, my warrior."

"I do not think he belongs to Fôlkvang, Lady Freyja," Death placed her bony hand upon Tony's arm. "I may take him to Niflheim. He escaped my arms far too many times."

"I told you, I'm here for Loki, ok? I cannot be dead before I save him."

"Are you willing to take his place among the dead ones?" Death asked him, her empty eyes were burning Tony from the inside.

"I am. Let's make a deal here, ladies," Tony breathed deeply, even though he didn't have to here. "I am offering my soul for Loki's. I stay here and he will be sent back to live."

"You would truly sacrifice yourself for Loki?" Freyja asked him, as she finally stood before him and Death.

"Of course," Tony replied without hesitation. "I would give everything for him. He wasn't supposed to die, not like this. This is why I let myself being killed so I'd end up in your meadow, Freyja."

"However, Loki is not in Fôlkvang, dear Anthony," she informed him. Freyja closed her eyes and opened her palms. A moment later a green spark showed up on in the middle of it. It was moving so fast in circles like a wild animal that was caged. Tony recognized it immediately. It was boasting with Loki's seidr. "He is such a wild spirit. He was not ready to die and he cannot find peace for his soul. It will be trapped here for as long as he won't find peace and let one of us take him. He's unsettled, his spirit yearns to be free once more, but it cannot let go of a thread that binds him to you, Anthony. The threads you are bounded by are keeping him from entering my realm. You must free him, or he will never find peace."

Tony couldn't agree with that. He cannot let go of Loki. It wasn't the time for the mage to be gone. If Stark can help it, he will make sure Loki will never die. He will fight teeth and nails to get Loki's soul back.

Suddenly both ladies stiffen in a place for a moment. They sensed something and a moment later, Tony sensed it too. Another presence in the place. A small smile crept onto Freyja's lips as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Welcome, my lady," she and Death turned around and lowered their heads while regarding the new person.

Tony was ready to do so as well, however, he realized he knows the person they were bending for. A golden-green dress with Aesir's emblements he had seen Frigga wore before she died. Black locks falling loosely on her arm. A soft smile on her pale face. And two mismatched eyes. One green and one brown. Tony smiled as well. Maybe there was some hope for him and Loki.

"Hi," Tony greeted her with a small wave of his hand. "Long time no see, Freyja."

"Tony," she gave him a pointed look. "What are you doing here?"

Both Death and the other Freyja looked between the two with wonder on their faces.

"Your little plan didn't work out and I had to come here, you know. For Loki."

"You should not address Lady Future so easily, human," Mistress Death warned him.

"We know each other," Tony barked at her and smirked at Freyja, the Future. "Ok, enough of the chit-chat, ladies. Give me Loki's soul and I'm out of here. Chop chop, ladies. My clock is ticking."

"This is not that simple, Anthony," Lady Freyja of Fôlkvang started once more. "Loki is…"

"I know, unsettled. But…"

"If I may," Freyja, the Future, interrupted, walking closer to Mistress and the other Freyja.

She touched their hands and closed her eyes. The two women followed her example. Tony didn't see what they did, but he guessed it had to be connected with what would happen if Loki was trapped here. It only lasted a moment or two, and when they opened their eyes they smiled sadly at Tony.

Freyja of Fôlkvang presented him with the green spark that was Loki's soul once more. She raised it to Tony's chest and pushed it into the necklace with so much force that Tony fell to his knees. He felt as the necklace was burning him, but not with fire but with ice. Similar to the coldness of Loki's ice powers that the mage once used around him. Tony wanted to scream but found himself unable to. His voice died in his throat as he felt the coldness spread through his entire body. He closed his eyes and let the coldness take over him. When he opened his eyes again he was still in the light place, but there was no more Mistress or Lady Freyja here. The only remained woman was Freyja, the Future. She was kneeling next to Tony, keeping her hand pressed to his heart.

"You must go back now, Tony."

"What did you show them? They didn't want me to take Loki's soul back. What did you show them, Freyja?"

"The future." Now the sad smiles made sense. And the sad smile of Freyja's confirmed his theory.

"I'm going to die, right?" she didn't reply to this. "But Loki will be alive, right? I will take his place here after all it's done, right? After we win, I will die."

"I cannot tell you, Anthony."

"It's alright," Tony reassured her. "As long as we win and he lives, it will be alright. I can die for him. As long as he will be alive."

"You must go back now. It is your time." She helped him stand on his feet. The sad smile still on her beautiful face. "Go now."

"I guess this is a goodbye, Freyja. Thanks for everything."

Tony felt as his body was slowly warming itself and becoming more solid. A light heartbeat started its rhythm in his chest. Blood was pumping in his veins again. He felt magic surrounding his body and let it overwhelm him. He closed his eyes and fell into the darkness once more.

The last thing he heard was the soft voice of Freyja.

_I will see you again, da..._


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter XXVII**

**"Nothing else matters "**

Tony woke up precisely 9 days later to seven faces in the room. Five of those faces were angry as hell, one was sad and the last one was without a particular expression. However, as Tony adjusted his eyes to the light in the room he realized there was no face he longed to see. Before he managed to open his mouth, a battle of screams erupted in the room.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!"

"What the hell were you thinking, Tony?!"

"I could kill you myself for pulling such a stupid shit!"

"You are the biggest idiot that walks this ground!"

"It was a dangerous thing to do, friend Tony."

Finally, when the voices tuned out, or perhaps Tony muted them in his mind, he opened his mouth and voiced his thoughts.

"Where is he?" His eyes crossed with Eir and Nebula. None of the women were looking him in the eye. That wasn't a good sign. "Where's Loki?"

"I apologize, Consort Stark," Eir still didn't meet his eyes and her voice was full of sorrow. "I couldn't bring prince Loki back to life. I failed my duty to you and I will face whatever punishment you set out for me."

Tony dismissed the second part of her answer and instead focused on the most important thing.

_I couldn't bring prince Loki back to life. _

_He's still dead. _

_He's not coming back. _

Tony wanted to cry, but his eyes had no more tears left. He wanted to scream but his voice was too quiet. He wanted to rip his own heart out but it felt as if it wasn't in his chest anymore. He was empty, like a shell.

People were talking to him and above him, but Tony kept staring at Eir with emptiness written all over his face.

"I'm truly sorry, Consort Stark, " Eir repeated herself.

"I thought that… what went wrong?" He asked, moving up to sit on the bed. Suddenly all his friends stopped their screams and focused on Tony's movements. Stark paid them no mind. "Eir?"

"I cannot determine what caused my failure, Consort Stark," she moved closer to him, Nebula hot on her heels. She acted as if she's protecting her. But from who? Tony? Or his friends? What had happened here when he was asleep? Did Thor state some horrible punishment for Eir? Oh hell no. Tony won't let them hurt her. "I deeply apologize."

"Is there nothing we can do?" Tony asked hopefully, as he tried to stand from the bed.

As if on a call, the five of his friends began their shouting contest once more. Stark muted them in his head and tried to stand up again, only to be pushed back on the bed by the muscular arms of Rhodey. Stark only glared at him murderously and tried to stand up once more. However, James was a tad stronger than him and he had the support of a very angry Pepper, Bruce, Steve, and Thor. Tony couldn't match them all even on his best days.

"Move once again and I'll handcuff you to the bed with the furry handcuffs you used to keep under your bed," James warned him, pushing him on the mattress. Tony huffed annoyed but stayed in his place. "You're stupid, Tone! What if Eir wouldn't be able to bring you back to life, huh? Did you even think about it?! Did you fucking think about me?! We're family, you idiot! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I trusted Eir," Tony tried to reason with him. "I knew that I will make it back. I wasn't really dead."

"You were," Bruce joined the heated discussion. "Tony, your heart stopped for over an hour. That means death for a human. I was giving you CPR for the time being. I still don't know how you survived."

"How did you even know…"

"Hmm… the fact that you forget we still have permanent access to the tower astounds me," Bruce replied angrily. "Loki never changed it and neither did you. I came here to talk and check upon you and found you lying in a heap of your blood with Eir chanting something above you. Nebula told me everything."

Tony sent his friend a betraying look.

"I ordered FRIDAY to call the rest of them," he continued, sitting at the edge of the bed. Bruce placed his palm on Tony's knee and patted it. "I know you're hurting and you have a right to. You're mourning for Loki and that's ok. You loved… you love him. It's ok to cry for him. We're here for you. Just let yourself mourn for Loki, Tony."

"He's not dead. Ok, he's dead now, but he won't be soon," Tony stated firmly and pushed Bruce's hand off his knee and stood up again. This time, neither of them tried to stop him. With wobbling legs, he managed to succeed only to falter on his legs and if it wasn't for Thor's quick reflexes, he'd meet the floor with his face. When he regained some control over his body, he pushed himself off Thor and walked towards Eir. "Is there any other way to bring him back?"

Before Eir had a chance to open her mouth, Thor walked closer to him and placed his big hand on Tony's shoulder. Strangely it wasn't as painful as before. Maybe the big guy finally learned how to measure his strength when it comes to mortals?

"My friend, I wish for nothing more but to see my brother alive," his voice was unnaturally light, almost a whisper full of consolation. "Alas, I do not think it is possible to bring him back from Death's grasp. We must say our words of goodbye to him. If there was a way to bring him back I would be the first one to help you with this, but I know none magician that can wield such dark magic. He would have to be powerful and connected to Yggdrasil. There were only five people I knew connected to its magic. Loki, our parents, Heimdall and Alvis, the old teacher of mother and Loki…"

"My liege…" Eir suddenly gasped and raised her head at both of them. A small smile crept onto her face and a spark lit in her green eyes. She came up with something. "I was such a fool! You have only a little access to Yggdrasil's magic, Consort Stark, just like me. But there are creatures that have full access to it. Creatures that can wield its power to their likes. I was such a fool… I apologize for endangering your life, Consort Stark."

"Don't worry about it, Eir," he reassured her. "I've survived worse. Tell me more about this."

"I am not certain if Alvis still lives after the snap, but if he does… he is the one that can bring Prince Loki back to life," well if Tony grabbed her and pressed to his chest from joy, no one could blame him. When he released her from his arms, he ordered FRIDAY to prepare him a suit with the adjustments for space travel.

The screams erupted in the room once more, but Tony didn't give a damn over them. Sure, they were worried about him and his sanity, but they couldn't do anything about it. Tony was too determined to bring Loki back to life, even for the price of his own life.

The preparation for the space travel took two more days only because Bruce wanted to be absolutely sure that Tony's health was perfect. Once assured, the team defeated and agreed to travel. However, this time they decided to join him in his stupid mission. Bruce, James, Eir, Nebula, Thor, and Tony. Well, it was a dream team. James refused to let go of Tony for even a second for two days. He was afraid his friend will pull some stupid stunt once more. Bruce shared his opinion, so they didn't leave the penthouse. Like, what did they think he would do? Kill himself? There was a chance to get Loki back, Tony will do everything to survive.

When the time came, the six of them were standing in the middle of the deck in the tower. They were huddling close to Thor, who thanks to the Stormbreaker could take them to Alfheim. Apparently, this Alvis was some kind of high-class elf.

When they landed on the ground, Tony was astonished by the power of Stormbreaker. He needed to get his hands on it and work it out. Thor will surely let him do it, right? They were practically brothers now. Stark looked around and realized they're standing before an entrance to a dark woods. It reeked of those weird scented sticks that Pepper used to light up in the living room when they were dating. Tony felt sick with the smell.

"It's the scent of a barrier," Eir explained as she moved forward. "This is a sacred place, not everyone can walk in. Only those who possess seidr. King Thor, Consort Stark, and I. The three of you must await our return here. If you try to trespass the woods, you will meet your punishment from the ghosts of the old sacred. King Thor," she turned to him and bowed her head. "If you allow, I will lead us to Alvis's home."

"Very well, Eir. Led us."

And so they stepped into the dark woods. When Tony turned around three steps into the woods, he realized that he cannot see his friends anymore. Everything behind them was dark as night and everything before was light. He matched his walk with Eir and nudged her in her side with a silent question.

"The woods are pure magic," she informed him. "When you step into it, it reads your needs and moves you in the right direction," she moved her hand ahead and pointed at a hermitage in front of them.

The hermitage was an old, wooden house, covered in some green bush. Yeah, just exactly like in Asterix and Obelix, Tony thought. A cloud of white smoke was fleeing from the chimney.

Where the hell he was? Who would live in such…middle of nowhere?

As they made their way to the doors, they suddenly opened and Eir led them inside. The whole room was covered with darkness. Tony still couldn't outline anyone but them here. He didn't like it at all. Suddenly there was a pair of white eyes with small green points in the middle of them. And soon, the whole room lit up, revealing the owner of the house.

The teacher was an old man, with long, white hair with leaves mixed with strands. He wore a long, white robe tied with a grey rope on his waist. He held a wooden cane in his right hand. Oh shit, I met a real-life Gandalf, Tony thought, eyeing the man from head to toe.

"Welcome, Anthony Stark of Earth," shit. The man knew him. And he spoke English? Did all aliens possess the strange allspeak thing? "King Thor of Asgard, Eir, my child. What brings you here?"

"We are in need of your aid, Alvis," Thor addressed him officially. "You are the only being I know that can help us."

"Help you with what?" His white eyes moved towards Tony and stared deeply into his browns. "You're in pain. Your heart… it yearns to beat properly once more. Your soul is disconnected from your body… What aliment occurred this?"

But Tony had no chance to respond, as Alvis placed his palm upon Tony's heart where the medallion with Loki's soul hung and sighed.

"My poor child," his eyes found Tony's once more. "I see your heart now. The threads of your bond are weaker now and his soul cannot find its peace as well. You are lost in your pain and so is he. You must be reconciled before it's too late, child."

"Can you help me bring him back to life, please?" Tony's voice was breaking with sobs. The man understood him like no one else before.

"I cannot, but I know who can," he responded, hand still pressed to Tony's chest.

"You can't?" Eir and Thor asked at the same time.

"Loki is a creature of ice and you will need his blood and flesh to perform the ritual."

"His blood?" Thor dropped to a whisper. "We do not have it. We are not blood-related and…"

"As I said, Loki is a creature of ice, King Thor," he shared a knowing look with Thor and it took the Asgardian a moment before he understood the meaning hidden behind him.

"But I thought that it was destroyed…"

"Not everything seems as it looks like, King Thor."

Thor sighed exasperatedly and turned to Tony and Eir with a blank expression.

"So, what is it, Point Break?"

"We're going to Jotunheimr."


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter XXVIII**

"**World on fire"**

Someday, Tony will definitely think that things could have gone better for him and his companions. But not today. No. Today it went south, even before they made their trip to the cold realm, Jotunheimr. Strangely, it wasn't Tony's fault, so no one could blame him for this. It was Thor's fault. But, back to the moment when everything went down the road.

It was a sunny morning on Alfheim since they decided to stay the night in Alvis's hermitage. Eir needed to regenerate her mojo and Alvis needed to gather proper tools to help Tony bring Loki back to life. The old elf beckoned at Tony to his private chamber and sat him down on a bed-look-alike but with lots of furs and leaves. Did Tony mention he feels like in Asterix and Obelix movies? He was. Alvis started to explain to him what they were about to do.

"You understand that his soul was away from the body for a long time now, Anthony?"

"Tony," he corrected him automatically. Only Loki could call him Anthony. "And where's the problem with that? I'm no mage, but a man of science. You have to tell me everything."

"Interfering with Death's matters is dangerous," Alvis continued, as he packed several bottles into his small, leather bag. "It is not liked by fates, Tony. You must remember this. However, I foresaw Loki's fate before. It was not his time to give up his life. This is why his soul could not find its peace after his body died. The bond that connected your threads is strong beyond anything I experienced in my long life. It is not easily breakable, this is why his spirit cannot enter any afterlife realm."

"That's my Lolo."

"But you must know, it will not be easy to bring him from the depths of his death. He may not come back as you know him, Tony."

"What do you mean?" he asked the elf with concern in his voice. He won't be the same? How come?

"The longer his soul is without a body, the more he may be reluctant to come back to the body we create for him," the older one responded, placing the last bottle in his sack. He placed the bag on the bedside table and sat next to Tony on his bed. He turned his body to the mortal and placed his hand upon Tony's heart, where the medallion with Loki's soul hung. Alvis closed his eyes and muttered something under his nose far too quiet for Tony to understand properly. Eventually, he hummed and opened his eyes again. "Yes, we do not have much time. We must hasten our go. The first thing in the morning we shall leave for Jotunheimr. We must start recreating Loki's body as soon as it will be possible."

"Recreate?"

"Loki's body burnt within the magic of Yggdrasil, correct?" Tony nodded to that. This was the version he learned from Thor. "We do not have anything to… work with. We must create his body from the very beginning."

"How do we do it? And why on Jotunheimr? I get it, it's Loki's place of birth since he is a Jotun, but what's there that can help us?"

"There is one story of how the first and second creature was born to the worlds. Each realm adapts it to their visionary of a god, Tony. You surely know it as well."

Tony pondered about it for a moment, going through every possible story about the beginning of the world he knew of. Suddenly something hit him like lightning when he understood Alvis's words. He couldn't possibly think about it, could it? He wants to play a god and create Loki's body from Tony's rib? That was crazy! And impossible, right? Even magic couldn't do so… abnormal thing, right?

Just when Tony wanted to voice his questions, Alvis excused himself and went to rest. Tony didn't want to be ungrateful for the help he was providing him with, so he went back to the main room to find his friends arguing about something.

"What's going on?"

"Tony, this is crazy," Banner addressed him, as Tony walked towards them. "You don't know this guy and we don't know what kind of dangers we will meet on Jotunheimr. Thor says that the people there may be reserved towards us since Thor led a battle there with Loki's dad and Loki tried to destroy the planet. I don't think it's safe for us to go there. They may kill us."

"I never forced you to come here with me," he barked at them. How could they not understand that it was his only chance to get Loki back?! Tony will do everything to get him back. "I only needed Thor and Eir. And now I just need Eir, if she's willing to come with me."

"Of course, Consort Stark," she quickly replied to him, standing behind Tony. "I will be by your side. I will protect you with my own life. It is my duty, Consort Stark."

"See? I have a protector. You can all go back home now."

Tony couldn't really expect his friends to agree. Although one could hope, right? The moment those words left his mouth another shout contest erupted in the middle of the room. The usual insults of his intelligence, the brilliancy of his plans, and the never-ending meaningful looks from Thor. At least he wasn't that opponent to this plan.

"Forget it!" Rhodey announced sternly. "I won't let you kill yourself for nothing."

It was harder than any punch he ever received. Tony took a step back, his face full of shock and hurt. Did his friends think Loki meant nothing to him? It seemed that Rhodey realized his slip-tongue and bit down on his lower lip before he took a cautious step closer to Tony. Stark took a step back.

"I'm sorry, Tones," he tried talking calmly. "I know that Loki meant much to you…"

"Everything," Stark interrupted him. "He **means **everything to me. There's no me without him, ok? I know you must think me crazy to be so dependent on him, but… you just don't understand us. I need him back. And if I have an opportunity to do so, none of you can stop me. So, either shut your mouth about us or go home. I can handle this on my own. I've been in worse situations before."

"We will go with you, friend Tony," Thor said; the only reasonable voice in this whole chaos. Tony was glad that his brother-in-law came with him here. "We will stand by you and do everything we can to bring my brother back to life."

No one dared to say anything else. With this plan, they went to rest before the morning travel.

Traveling to Jotunheimr went smoother than via Stormbreaker. Alvis walked them all through the secret passage between Alfheim and Jotunheimr. Before they stepped out of a cave, he advised them to pull the furs he collected for them. Tony tied his fur around his frame with the wire of leaves. It was as strong as a rope. It was probably enchanted or so. Or maybe there was some strong flora on Alfheim. With the proper clothing, they stepped out of the cave and were immediately hit with the freezing air. Sure, Tony was in Siberia, but this… Jotunheimr was freezing his bones. Alvis and Eir walked ahead of the team, Thor and Bruce behind them, with Rhodey, Nebula, and Tony at the end. Nebula was constantly teasing him about his red nose, while Rhodey's teeth were chattering.

Eventually, they stopped on an ice-land. The place was dark, but Tony was able to outline a few stalagmites here and there, and stuff made of ice. However, he couldn't continue his marvel over this place, as a blue-skinned figure emerged from the shadows and startled the whole group.

"Stand your places, intruders," a deep male voice boomed through space. When Tony was finally able to see the whole creature he was shocked. The man, a half-naked, blue man, was at least twenty feet tall. His body was muscular with markings decorating it from his face to his feet. Tony was familiar with such markings, he had seen them on Loki's body when he turned into his Jotun form twice. He had a good memory. His lower half was covered in a leather skirt-like and there were chains pinched to his ears and nipples. In any other circumstances, Tony could find this look quite enhancing, especially if Loki would sport it. The man's red eyes traveled between all Tony's companions. "Who are you?"

"I am King Thor of Asgard…"

"You shall die tonight, King Thor," the man interrupted him. "You killed many of my kind."

"I would like an audience with your king if you allow. As the king of New Asgard and the new Allfather, I would like to create new relations with Jotunheimr."

"New relations?" the Jotun laughed throatily. "You killed many of my kind and destroyed half of my realm. There will be no peaceful relations between Jotunheimr and New Asgard. And as soon as we learn where the New Asgard is, you shall expect revenge, king Thor." The Jotun made a small pause before he spoke to Thor again. "Or, perhaps, I shall kill you just now."

"King Helbindi," Alvis stepped in front of Thor and bowed to the Jotun. Tony, who learned a thing or two about etiquette from Loki, stepped in front as well and dropped to one knee before the king. The Jotun king regarded him with a curious look before his eyes traveled back to Alvis. "We come to ask you and your mother for help, if she still lives, your highness."

"Help from us?" Helbindi wondered loudly. "You have always been kind to my mother, Alvis of Alfheim. However, I cannot aid you, if you ally yourself with a pest, who tried to destroy my home realm. You know your way out of Jotunheimr, Alvis."

With that, Helbindi turned on his heel and stepped away from the group. Tony acted instinctually. He got up from his position and ran after the Jotun king. He grabbed him by his leg and made him stop. Helbindi turned back to him and frowned at Tony.

"Please," he said in a broken voice. "You are my last hope. I need your help. Please, don't look through the actions of the past. I beg you for help, king Helbindi. I can offer you whatever you want to in exchange for your aid. Whatever I can provide from Earth or any other realm."

"Who are you, mortal?"

"I'm Tony Stark from Earth and I need your help."

"A mortal?" another, more female voice reached his ears. A moment later the voice was connected with an equally tall female frost giant, who joined them. When Tony looked over her, he spotted the same jewelry decorating her ears and neck, as Helbindi had only hers were full of crystal blue gems. She wore something similar to a short skirt and a bra. Her breasts were covered by black leather material, tied at the front and she had the same skirt-like as Helbindi. Her marks weren't close to what Helbindi or Loki had, they were lighter. Her scarlet eyes were eyeing Tony from head to toe. "How did you find yourself here, mortal?"

"Queen Farbuati," Alvis stepped closer to him and the giants and bowed his head to her. "I'm pleased to see you as a survivor of Thanos's action."

"Alvis of Alfheim," she greeted him back. "What brings you and this mortal to my home?"

"We are in need of your help, my Queen."

From there, Alvis started to explain what they would require from them, with Tony providing a small story of how Loki died and how they were bonded by Freyja. Queen Farbuati was nodding to this, as tears pooled into her eyes when Alvis revealed that Loki is her firstborn. Oh. So, Tony just met his other mother-in-law and a brother-in-law. From a non-existent family, he suddenly has two new brothers and a mother. Well, maybe after everything will be fixed, they can start knowing each other better as a family. When Alvis and Tony were done with explaining the whole thing, Farbauti decided to help them, if only Thor and the rest of their band would be sent back home. They were very reluctant to leave the place, trying to plead with the Jotun king and queen, but they didn't want Thor anywhere near them. The rage was still boiling inside of them, even though it was not Thor who tried to destroy the realm with Bifrost's magic. In the end, Alvis advised Tony to not mention it was Loki's doings, otherwise they may have gone back on their help.

With only Eir and Nebula left, Tony, Alvis, Eir, and Queen Farbuati began their work on recreating Loki's body. With the ice of Jotunheimr and strange nature-magic, Alvis created something that looked like a cradle of Helen Cho. The one where Vision's body came to life. When it was done, Farbuati, as Loki's birth mother, was asked to put her blood inside of it, as same as a part of her own flesh. Tony then realized that Alvis didn't make a joke about this Adam and Eve story. He truly wanted to create Loki's body from Farbuati's flesh. Of course, she didn't cut off her rib. No. What she did cut out was a part of the skin on her hip. Tony was fascinated by how she healed herself immediately with ice that was coming out of her palm. He started to talk with her and Helbindi about their ice powers and wondered whether Loki had the same when he was in his blue form. When the cradle was ready with blood and flesh, Tony gave the medallion with Loki's soul to Alvis and let him do his work. The elf informed him that this kind of magic may go for days, even months, seeing as he isn't as young now. Tony didn't mind. It could last even years for all he cares, as long as he gets to cuddle the skinny ass of his spouse once more. He could wait.

"When I birthed him, I could fit him in my palm," Farbuati joined him in his usual evening's sitting by the cradle. The golden magic of Alvis was pulsing around it, as Loki's body was creating itself again. The cradle was hidden by the ice, so Tony couldn't see much. But he felt it was working, at least he hoped so. "He was so small. It was unusual for a Jotun to be so small. But he was so beautiful and mine. I loved him from the moment I realized he's growing inside of me."

Tony didn't reply to her, but he listened to her calming voice.

"When I birthed him… I only held him for a moment before Laufey took him away from me. I went into labor in the dawn of the war with Asgardians. It was such an unfortunate time to be born, but my Loptr wanted to join this world," she continued. Yes, throughout the last few weeks that Tony was here, he learned the real, Jotun name of his lover. Loptr. This was the name that was chosen for him. Similar to Loki. Perhaps Odin knew about it then? "Laufey took him from me and told me, he will hide him. But he fooled me. He told me that Loptr died because he was too small for being a Frost Giant. A runt among his kind. I grieved for my sweet baby for so long. He was my firstborn. After the battle, Laufey, who was pronounced the king then, as his father died in a battle against Borr, was quick to impregnate me again. My other children were born from me, but some of our sons were born out of Laufey himself. Helbindi is my youngest and the only one who survived Asgard's attack and the snap."

"Wait…" Tony caught on her words. "Laufey… that's Loki's father? A male right?" Farbauti nodded to that. "Then how could he have been born Helbindi?"

"Jotuns… in the aftermath of the first battle with Asgardians, when most of us were slaughtered, it turned out that there were only a few, precisely three females who lived. Two of them were or too old to bear children and one was too young to do so. And so, males bodies started to develop proper mechanisms to bear children to prolong the kind," she explained with a small smile. "All of the Jotuns are able to bear children, Tony. Loki as well."

"Holly shit…"

"It was a natural need to survive and prolong our kind," she finished, looking at Loki's cradle. "I wish I could see my boy grow up to be the king he deserves to be. He is after all the firstborn of Laufey, even if he wasn't… he killed Laufey, so he could easily take his place."

"You know?"

"There was one trait I shared with my firstborn, Tony," Farbauti stood up, towering above Tony, and took a step to the exit. "I have the same magic as him. I could easily connect my mind to another Jotun like I did that night when Laufey went to kill Odin. I saw how Loptr… Loki killed him, protecting Odin."

"So why did you agree to help us, if you know what Loki did?"

"He is my son."

Recreating Loki's body took seventeen more days. At least Tony counted them like that, seeing as the day wasn't much different from the night, the only difference was the moon shining in far. Nebula found out from Helbindi, who very officially had hots for her, that their day lasts longer when the moon is further from the realm. Apparently, it wasn't moving like Earth's moon. During their stay on Jotunheimr, Helbindi started to make official advances on Nebula. Using the natural magic of theirs, he shrinks himself to six-foot height, so he wasn't that much towering and started to court her, as Loki would say. At first, Nebs wasn't very into him, but as the days passed she found herself smiling around him. At least she was happy.

On the final day, when Alvis announced that Loki's body was ready, he pushed his soul into the body inside the cradle and decided that now it was Loki's time to wake up. It took another five days, but eventually, Alvis opened the cradle and presented them with Loki's blue, full Jotun body. Loki was breathing, his chest raised and fell. His body was unmoving, but his eyes were making small movements behind his closed lids. Finally, after what it seemed forever, Loki opened his eyes and stared ahead.

Tony took a cautious step closer to him and leaned over the cradle to look into his now red eyes. However, instead of the usual fire in his eyes and the spark of love he had for Tony, Stark saw nothing but emptiness in them. Loki crossed his eyes with him and stared, lips pressed in a thin line.

"Baby? Loki? Can you hear me? Loki?"

But the god didn't give a single sign of coherency, not even when Tony moved to place his hand into his, despite the cold. Eventually, with eyes still crossed with Tony's, Loki opened his mouth and let out a single, dreadful word.

"Dead."


End file.
